LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERSONALITY TYPES by WAYNE PRETORIUS submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree MAGISTER THEOLOGIA in the subject LEADERSHIP AND CHURCH MANAGEMENT at the SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SUPERVISOR: DR. V. E. ATTERBURY November 2008
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LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERSONALITY TYPES
by
WAYNE PRETORIUS
submitted in accordance with the requirements
for the degree
MAGISTER THEOLOGIA
in the subject
LEADERSHIP AND CHURCH MANAGEMENT
at the
SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
SUPERVISOR: DR. V. E. ATTERBURY
November 2008
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Firstly and most importantly I wish to thank our Heavenly Father for giving me
the strength, grace and love to embark on this journey. I know that there is no
way that I could have done it on my own.
I also wish to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my supervisor,
Dr. Vincent Atterbury. Thank you so much for your friendship, guidance and
perseverance and all you‘ve done for me.
To my wife, Liesl and our children, Rikus and Etienne, thank you for your love
and for standing by my side; I love you!
To the AFM of SA Evander assembly, my sincere thanks for all you‘ve done
for me and all of your support and prayers during this journey.
I would also like to thank the following people, without whom I could not have
finished this work. Thank you for your input and that you believed in me and
encouraged me:
Cobus and Joyce Rossouw, Chris and Jeanette Ferreira, Dr. Mias de
Klerk, Dr. Lois Brits-Scheepers, Rita Meyer, Wilma van Heerden, Maria
Grobler and all the Pastors of the Mpumalanga South Region of the
AFM of SA.
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SUMMARY
Leadership is a common phenomenon on every level of life, even the church.
Scholars regard leadership in the church as the most important aspect of
church functionality. Some are of the opinion that church leadership became
the decisive factor in determining the effectiveness of a church and the single
most contributing factor that allows a church to develop its full potential.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the possibility whether there is a
correlation between a church leader‘s Personality type and his or her
Leadership style. Each phase of the research represents a partial and
independent unit, which in cohesion with the other units of this research
contributes to the final research result.
A literature study as well as an empirical research was done. The empirical
research consisted out of semi-structured interviews as well as two surveys,
the Malphurs Leadership Style Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
This research indicates that Pentecostal church leaders are of the opinion that
a church leader‘s personality type does have a significant influence on a
church leader‘s leadership style. This research also indicates that Pentecostal
church leaders are of the opinion, based on their personal experience, that
the work of the Holy Spirit in and through them, more than anything else has a
significant influence on a Pentecostal church leaders leadership style and the
ability to adapt their leadership style according to the challenges of the
Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, South America, Ghana, Portugal, India, Pakistan,
Belgium, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Russia (Burger and Nel 2008:129,
163-176; Burger and Nel 2008:55,468-471).
The AFM of SA consists of 1471 registered assemblies which has been
divided into 38 regions defined by geographical boundaries of which the
Mpumalanga South Region is one of them (Agenda of GBM 2008:52). The
assemblies in this region range from small rural assemblies with less than 50
members and one pastor or assembly leader to large multiple staff assemblies
with more than 500 members.
The sample consisted of ten church leaders, the senior pastor of an assembly,
and was taken during a pastor‘s retreat of the mentioned region. There are 26
assemblies in the region with 15 senior pastors; the other assemblies have an
elder that is a leader of that assembly. At the retreat there were 18 pastors
and leaders present, of whom the researcher was one, and the other seven
were elders. That left the researcher with the respondents used in this
research.
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1.5 METHODOLOGY
1.5.1 Literature study
A literature study is an appropriate method to determine what existing theories
and shortcomings there are about a specific subject. Only after a thorough
literature study can the researcher be aware of any deficiency in existing
information, contra-dictionary results and inexplicable occurrences. Available
literature will be used to come to insight and get a grasp on the problem
researched. Information that is already gathered on a specific subject, often
serves as background and matrix for further research in that specific field
(Jordaan and Jordaan 1990:69, 70).
Even if a problem is preceded by a literature study, further literature study is
necessary after the problem has been formulated. Where a researcher could
previously have read widely on a subject, he can now, in the light of the
problem formulated, read more specifically to gather information on what is
already being done; how the problem can be approached and what factors
must be taken into account (Jordaan and Jordaan 1990:70).
A researcher is therefore confronted with a heap of literature. The best way to
overcome this problem is to consult the most recent sources. Therein a good
overview can be found of the latest and most important developments.
Through the research the researcher try to determine which specific factors or
variables have an influence on his planned research (Jordaan and Jordaan
1990:71).
1.5.2 Empirical Study
1.5.2.1 Introduction
According to Martin (1985:3-16), empiric research can make use of several
different approaches. One such approach would be to carefully observe
human behaviour to see if one action occurs regularly with another. A
correlation can also be determined by having people fill out surveys or by
interviewing them. Surveys and interviews can also be used to discover how
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many people favour a particular option (as is done in opinion polls) or simply
to generate new ideas (―How can we raise funds for the youth group?‖).
In this research, interviews and surveys will be used to determine the
correlation between a church leader‘s leadership style and personality type.
1.5.2.2 Interviews
Bogdan and Biklen (1982:135) describe an interview as a purposeful
conversation, mainly between two persons, which is led by one person with
the goal to obtain information. Lankshear and Knobel (2004:198) describe an
interview as a planned communication between two or more individuals of
which one person assumes the position of an interviewer, asking questions on
‗topic of formal interest‘ and the other(s) as interviewee(s) responding to those
questions. In essence, the interaction between the interviewer and interviewee
is usually initiated by the former for the purpose of soliciting information from
the latter and seems to be the fundamental attribute of an interview.
Available literature identifies four types of interviews. They are the structured,
semi-structured, unstructured or informal and retrospective interviews (Opie
2004:117-118; Fraenkel and Wallen 1993:455-456). Opie (2004:117) posits
that a structured interview has characteristics that are similar to the
questionnaire in ‗form‘ and in purpose. Both bring a kind of formality into the
situation and findings are often attributed to a large population. Thus, in many
cases, structured interview uses a large sample size. Essentially, structured
interview is more or less objective because the interview strictly follows the list
of prepared questions. Structured interview uses a sequence of short and
direct questions that require simple answers.
Unlike structured interview, semi-structured interview is used to collect
detailed information by means of probing. Therefore, by nature, semi-
structured interview is flexible and allows the interviewer to exercise his or her
initiative by modifying the initial list of questions in the course of the interview,
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which increases the probability of interviewer‘s biases affecting the
conclusions drawn from the interview (Opie 2004:118). In other words, the
interviewer is at liberty to pose relevant follow-up questions at any point he or
she thinks appropriate.
Lankshear and Knobel (2004:202) point out that the unstructured or informal
interview is similar to the semi-structured interview in that both allow the
interviewer to probe for details. According to Opie (2004:118) the unstructured
interview does not use interview guide. It is generally based on the topic pre-
determined by the interviewer, but basically follows the interviewee‘s flow of
thought. In effect, even though the interviewer does not use any list of
prepared questions, he or she is conscious of the purpose of the interview.
A retrospective interview, according to Fraenkel and Wallen (1993:456) can
be structured, semi-structured or unstructured, but the researcher makes the
respondent remember and rebuild from memory a past event. These scholars
are of the opinion that a retrospective interview may not be effective in
seeking reliable information, as some vital information may have been lost to
bad memory.
According to Opie (2004:111), interviews, when used as data-collection tool,
was often meant to complement questionnaires. He posits that open-ended
questions cannot effectively achieve the details, which can be achieved
through interview. Lankshear and Knobel (2004:198) affirm this statement by
saying that interviews are useful tools to generate comprehensive information
about the phenomena being studied. It can be inferred that more than any
other data-collection tool, an interview gives the interviewer a unique
opportunity to probe for clarification and in-dept information on the topic of
interest.
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Conducting a successful interview demands the interviewer to observe certain
things. The following are some of the guidelines suggested by Leary
(1991:93-94), and Leedy and Ormond (2005:187-188):
(i) Create a friendly atmosphere
Leary (1991:93) stresses the need for the interviewer to establish and
maintain rapport with the participants as this creates an atmosphere of
trust and encourages the interviewees to respond with open mind.
(ii) Adhere to interview schedule
Leary (1991:94) suggests that an interviewer should allow him or
herself to be guided by the interview guide and should ask all
participants each question the same way. This means that the
interviewer should not try to modify the questions in the course of the
interview; there should be no addition or subtraction from the initial
guide.
(iii) Do not put words in the interviewee‘s mouth
Leedy and Ormond (2005:188) warn the interviewer against
interrupting interviewee‘s flow of thought with the intention of helping
him or her to complete a sentence or as a sign of agreeing with the
interviewee‘s ideas. It is advisable for the interviewer to take a neutral
position on the issue being explored so as to get the true picture of the
interviewee‘s mind.
(iv) Order interview sections
Leary (1991:94) indicates that it is essential for the interviewer to
arrange and pose interview questions in a logical manner, being careful
not to begin with sensitive questions.
Semi-structured interviewing was used to gather information from the
respondents through the following question:
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What do you think is the correlation between your leadership style
and your personality type?
In addition the next two questions were asked as control questions, with the
purpose to compare it with the surveys.
(i) Describe your personality type?
(ii) Describe your leadership style?
Subsequent to the above questions, the following questions for clarification
has been asked:
(iii) Do you think your leadership have changed over the years?
(iv) Do you think that pastors could benefit from knowing their strengths
and weaknesses?
(v) Do you think assemblies need to consider a pastor‘s leadership
style or personality type before they call him or her?
(vi) Are there any other closing remarks?
1.5.2.3 Surveys
According to Gerber (1995:91) surveys can be either structured or
unstructured. Structured surveys have specific questions relating to the
subject while unstructured surveys leave it to the respondent to express him
or herself relating to the subject in his or her own words. Gerber (1995:91)
emphasise the importance of the following when a survey is being done:
(i) Explain to the respondent what the survey is being used for
(ii) The questions must be short, clear, and relevant
(iii) The survey must be as short as possible
(iv) The survey must be tested
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1.5.2.3.1 Malphurs Leadership style inventory
For this dissertation, the Malphurs leadership style inventory (Malphurs
2003:205-213) will be used to help explore and expand the understanding of
the leadership styles used in the church and how others might perceive and
react to it. According to Malphurs (2003:11), church leadership is all about
influence and this inventory is a tool to help church leaders discover their style
of influence or how they influence followers.
1.5.2.3.2 Myers – Briggs Type Indicator – MBTI
The Myers – Briggs Type Indicator – MBTI – a personality type test that also
helps to determine a person‘s natural ―comfort‖ zones in terms of behaviour,
will be used for this dissertation. According to Kippenberger (2002:9) these
personality types at their most simplistic are: extrovert or introvert; a liking for
hard fact and detail or a preference for intuition; a tendency to use head or
heart; and quick decision taking or a desire for a lot of information first. Each
of the sixteen types that the test produces has its own personality profile,
which should provide some indication of a person‘s preferred leadership style.
1.6 PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS GUIDING RESEARCH
Leary (1991:330) maintains that every researcher has the obligation to protect
participants‘ rights and welfare. He asserts that one of the ways to ensure that
participants‘ rights are protected is to obtain informed consent. Sikes
(2004:25) adds that research is an activity that affects people‘s lives, therefore
research should be ethical. Thus the researcher obtained informed consent of
the respondents before they participated in the study (Appendix 1).
Leary (1991:335) argues that obtaining informed consent indicates that the
researcher respects participants‘ privacy and provides them with required
information, which could help them decide whether to agree or decline to
participate in the study. In agreement to this principle, the researcher assured
the respondents that their views would be absolutely anonymous and
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confidential. Therefore, they were asked not to write their names on the
questionnaires.
In the light of this, when the researcher embarked on empirical study, the
researcher ensured that basic ethical principles guiding research were
adhered to. Honesty and openness were used as guiding words. This means
being open to and honest with the respondents; explaining to them the
purpose of the study and other information that might increase their
willingness to participate. In addition, the researcher readily clarified issues in
the questionnaire as the need arise.
1.7 OVERVIEW
In this chapter, the researcher provided the justification for the choice of
research technique and explained the strategies as well as interview
principles and ethics employed to implement and complete the empirical
study. The goal of this part of the chapter is to show what process the
researcher has gone through and how the different parts of the research leads
to the research result which is indicated in this dissertation.
Each phase of the research represents partial an independent unit, which in
cohesion with the other units of this research contributes to the final research
result. The different phases of the research is represented in different
chapters with the goal to show how the phases lead to the next chapter and
ultimately to the final research result.
This dissertation will only focus on aspects of church leadership that has a
direct connection with the research problem, namely the direct or indirect
correlation between a church leader‘s leadership style and personality type.
Chapter two focuses on the description of literature on different Leadership
styles in church leadership and chapter three presents a description of
literature on Personality and Personality types, as to identify its connection
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with leadership style. Chapter four presents the analysis and interpretation of
data elicited from both the measuring instruments and interviews. In chapter
five the researcher will discus the research findings of chapter four and
attempts to indicate what the possible implications could be for leadership
within the context of a church, the limitations of the present study as well as
the possibilities with regard to further research on this matter.
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CHAPTER TWO
LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP STYLES
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Kippenberger (2002:6) defines leadership style as the style that a leader
adopts in his dealings with those who follow him. He explains that style is
generally taken to mean a ―way of behaving‖. The appropriate style will
depend on a wide variety of criteria, including the relationship between the
parties involved, the nature of what needs to be done, and the match or
mismatch between the difficulty of the task and the competencies available.
Dale (1986:39) states that leadership style is a person‘s characteristic manner
of expressing values and of executing work. He states further that leadership
style refers to an individual‘s distinctive approach to others and ministry and
that each person has a leadership style. Van Dyk (1995:54) regards
leadership style to be the way upon which the philosophy of management
comes about in practice.
Current thinking on leadership styles emphasise two major behaviour
dimensions that can be classified as task-oriented and people-oriented, also
known as relationship-oriented. This two-dimensional model of leadership
style that focuses on concern for people, and concern for production, is part of
a long tradition in organisational research (Blake and Mouton 1978; Hersey
and Blanchard 1982; Means 1990; Malphurs 2003).
Task-oriented leadership focuses on the accomplishment of one or several
goals. People-oriented leadership focuses on how people relate to themselves
and others (Malphurs 2003:93; Means 1990:101).
One of the authors trying to define what is meant by leadership styles is
Manfred Kets de Vries, a psychoanalyst and professor at INSEAD business
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school in France. Kets de Vries (2001:215) points out that leadership are a
property, ―a set of characteristics – behaviour pattern and personality
attributes – that makes certain people more effective at attaining a set goal.‖
However, it is also a process, ―an effort by a leader, drawing on various bases
of power, to influence members of a group to direct their activities toward a
common goal.‖
Because leadership cannot take place without followers and always has
situational factors that have to be taken into account, Kets de Vries
(2001:216) defines leadership style as the point of interaction between three
things:
(i) The leader‘s character type – his values, attitudes, and beliefs, his
position and experience;
(ii) The followers‘ character types – their values, attitudes, and beliefs,
their cohesiveness as a group; and
(iii) The situation – the nature of the task, the life-stage of the
organisation, its structure and culture, its industry, and the wider
socio-economic and political environment.
Kets de Vries (2001:218) explains that an individual‘s leadership style – a
synthesis of various roles that he or she chooses to adopt – is a complex
outcome of the interplay of that person‘s ―inner theatre‖, and the
competencies that the person develops over the course of their lifespan. An
individual‘s ―inner theatre‖ is made up of their motivational needs, their
character traits, and their behavioural patterns that can be called personal,
cognitive, and social competencies.
On this point, Kippenberger (2002:8) argues that inherent in the concept of
leadership styles is the assumption that an individual can change his or her
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style at will. To survive and to make headway in most organisations, people
learn to become good actors – sometimes acting out of character – to smooth
the path where necessary. Most people are readily capable of changing their
outward behaviour to fit the circumstances – looking sad, acting happy, or
putting on a grim face, as appropriate. Human beings are also astonishingly
adaptable – able to change their normal mode of behaviour for extended
periods where necessary, for example when thrust into an unexpected
situation like an emergency.
According to Kets de Vries (2001:30), the degree to which we can subvert or
distort our natural feelings and our instinctive behaviour patterns is
necessarily limited. Where this does happen for any extended period, we are
likely to develop what he describes as a ―false self.‖ People in this position are
unlikely to be able to provide effective leadership.
How we lead according to Kippenberger (2002:9) is a reflection of our
character, our personality, and our experience. As a result, the range of styles
we can properly adopt is inevitably limited. If a person puts himself in the
highly stressful role of leader without acknowledging this reality, is to court
disaster.
The literature on leadership styles comprise of a wide variety of leadership
theories, which will be discussed.
2.2 LEADERSHIP APPROACHES
2.2.1 Introduction
Scientific research on leadership did not begin until the 20th century. Since
then, there has been considerable research on the subject, from a variety of
perspectives (Lourens 2001:23). A leadership approach according to Van Dyk
(1995:366) consists of a number of leadership theories that is categorised in
one category because of corresponding principles. Schilbach (1983:32)
designed a frame or typology of leadership approaches to make meaningful
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discussions (see fig 2.1). Schilbach‘s approach will be further discussed with
reference to a variety of writers regarding the different theories. The purpose
here is to place the leadership approaches in context and not to present an
elaborated description of each leadership theory.
Figure 2.1 A Typology of leadership approaches (Schilbach 1983:32)
2.2.2 The trait approach
According to Van Dyk (1995:366), this approach comes from the ―great man
theory‖. Researchers focus on great people in the history of the world and
suggest that a person who copies their personalities and behaviours will
become a strong leader. Such research was being done in South Africa in
1965 by Dr. Anton Rupert who identified the following attributes as a
prerequisite for effective leadership (1965:17-31):
(i) Physical and mental health
(ii) A healthy outlook on life
(iii) A spirit of servitude
(iv) Unselfishness
(v) Optimistic, zealous, inspirational and impetus
(vi) Intelligence and knowledge
(vii) Fluent in a language
(viii) Will-power and purposefulness
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(ix) Adaptable and flexible
(x) Insight, and character
Stogdill (1974:74-75) finds that researchers mainly make use of the following
categories to describe leadership traits:
(i) Physical traits like length, appearance and energy
(ii) Intelligence and abilities
(iii) Personality traits like adaptability and aggressiveness
(iv) Traits relevant to the task like motivation, perseverance, and
initiative
(v) Social traits like interpersonal skills, administrative abilities, and
flexibility
The trait approach to leadership according to Van Dyk (1995:367) did not
contribute much to leadership. Although several studies were done in this
regard, it seems like this approach has little or no use.
2.2.3 The functional approach
According to Van Dyk (1995:367), the functional approach originated out of
the shortcomings of the trait approach and the notion that a leader is
dependent on a group of followers. The functional approach specifically looks
at the necessary functions of a leader, in a group context, to be fulfilled in
order to be effective. A leader‘s traits are not relevant.
Van Dyk (1995:367) corroborates that according to the functional approach,
leadership is relevant to what a person does in a leadership position. This
function however is not just relevant to the leader but also to every group
member. Any group member can disclose leadership functions in a certain
situation while any leadership function can be done by different group
members. The functional approach was mainly experimental, which meant
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that it was developed in a controlled environment. Therefore, the validity of the
functional approach could be questioned in practice.
2.2.4 The behaviouristic approach
The behaviouristic approach to leadership, as with the functional approach,
originated because of dissatisfaction with the trait approach. According to
Lourens (2001:27-28), for a period of almost thirty years leaders were studied
either by observing their behaviour in controlled settings or by asking
individuals in field settings to describe the behaviour of individuals in positions
of authority. These descriptions were then related to various criteria of leader
effectiveness. In contrast to the trait theorists most leadership behaviour
researchers believed that once the behaviour that leads to effective leadership
is known, leaders can be trained to exhibit that behaviour, in order to become
better leaders.
For this dissertation there will be focused on the work of Lewin, Lippitt and
White, McGregor, and Blake and Mouton.
2.2.4.1 The theory of Lewin, Lippitt and White
Lewin, Lippitt and White (1939:280) define leadership because of the way that
guidance is given to followers and identify three leadership styles:
(i) Autocratic leadership style: The leader determines the policy
and gives personal instructions to followers.
(ii) Democratic leadership style: Policy is determined by group
discussions and the leader only acts as facilitator. The leader
encourages group members and promotes interaction between
them.
(iii) Laissez-faire leadership style: There is minor policy and the
leader takes part in group-discussions in a small way.
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Lewin, Lippitt and White (1939:280) corroborate that the democratic
leadership style has the best chance for success and that different leadership
styles are needed to be effective in different situations.
2.2.4.2 McGregor’s theory
McGregor‘s (1960:53) theory, also known as Theory X and Theory Y, is based
on the assumption that there is constant conflict between employees and
management of an organisation, although they are mutually dependent on
each other. Subordinates are dependent on management for the satisfaction
of their needs and the achievement of their goals. On the other hand,
management is dependant on their subordinates to achieve their own goals
and the goals of the organisation. Leadership behaviour is based on a
leader‘s assumption over human nature and human behaviour.
McGregor (1960:147) propose two sets of opposing assumptions that is held
by leaders about subordinates and determines the leader‘s behaviour towards
subordinates. Van Dyk (1995:369) is of the opinion that McGregor implicitly
supports a ―best style‖ of leadership, because of his strong need to integrate
organisational and individual needs. According to Van Dyk (1995:369),
McGregor‘s theory did elicit some criticism, but none the less, it had a great
influence on the modern day understanding of leadership. Especially the
humanistic nature thereof and the direct distinction between Theory X and
Theory Y.
2.2.4.3 Blake and Mouton’s leadership matrix
The approach of Blake and Mouton (1978:6) provides new perspectives on
leadership behaviour and still enjoys a great deal of prominence. Their
approach comes from earlier research that showed that a leader must take
the people and the task into account to be effective. The leadership matrix
and the theory that goes with it are a useful instrument for leaders to identify
their own assumption about the people and the task that must be performed.
This knowledge of other‘s leadership styles and their own will enable leaders
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to assess themselves and others more objectively, communicate more
effectively, understand differences, and be able to help and lead others to be
more productive. They describe the usefulness of their approach as follows:
Learning grid management not only makes people aware of the assumptions under which they operate but also helps them to learn and to embrace scientifically verified principles for effectiveness in production under circumstances that promise mentally healthy behaviour.
(Blake and Mouton 1978:6)
Blake and Mouton (1978:11) identify three universal attributes for
organisations. The connection between these three attributes form the basis
for their leadership matrix as represented in figure 2.2:
(i) All organisations have goals that are pursued. It determines
the tasks that need to be performed.
(ii) No organisation can function without people.
(iii) A hierarchy of authority exists in al organisations.
Figure 2.2 Blake and Mouton‘s leadership matrix (1978:11)
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The leadership matrix consists of two dimensions, namely concern for people
and concern for tasks, each represented on an axis. Blake and Mouton
explain ‗concern for…‘ as follows:
Concern for… is not a specific term, which indicates the amount of actual production or actual behaviour toward people. Rather it indicates the character and strength of assumptions present behind any given managerial style.
(Blake and Mouton 1978:9) Blake and Mouton (1978:10) explain that concern for people is regarded
as the leader‘s assumptions towards aspects like personal involvement in
the achievement of goals; upkeep of the workers‘ self-confidence;
responsibility based on trust rather than submissiveness; the
maintenance of a good job environment; and the holding of satisfactory
interpersonal relationships.
Concern for tasks according to Blake and Mouton (1978:10) are regarded
as the leader‘s assumptions towards aspects like the quality of decision-
making; procedures and processes; creativity in research; quality of
personnel services; effectiveness of job performance; and volume
production.
Both dimensions of leadership behaviour are represented on the
leadership matrix by a nine-point scale that stretches from low (scale 1)
through average (scale 5) to high (scale 9). Blake and Mouton (1978:10)
state that it is important to note that these numbers signify steps between
low and high just as the gauge in an automobile indicates the amount of
gasoline from empty to full, rather than specific quantities.
The third attribute, hierarchy of authority, is concluded by Blake and
Mouton (1978:10) as the specific combination that exists between a
leader‘s concern for people and concern for tasks. These concerns may
be regarded as a set of assumptions according to which formal authority,
28
as obtained from the leader‘s hierarchical position in the organisation, is
used to put people and tasks together in special combinations to achieve
the organisation‘s goals.
With due allowance for the position a leader holds, he must be aware
that there are different alternative combinations of concern for people
and concern for tasks according to which he can direct his behaviour.
The following leadership styles are pointed out by Blake and Mouton
(1978:11-13):
(i) Autocratic leadership style (9.1): The leader reveals
maximum concern for tasks (scale 9) and minimum concern
for people (scale 1). The task is done by using formal
authority and control over subordinates is obtained by
enforcing compliancy.
(ii) Democratic leadership style (1.9): The leader reveals
minimum concern for tasks (scale 1) and maximum concern
for people (scale 9). Good interpersonal relationships with
colleagues and subordinates are of primary concern. If this
is good, the task will be done automatically according to
this leader.
(iii) Impoverished leadership style (1.1): Also known as the
laissez-faire leader reveals minimum concern for tasks
(scale 1) and minimum concern for people (scale 1). This
leader does the absolute minimum to remain part of the
organisation.
(iv) Organisation man leadership style (5.5): The leader tries to
maintain a balance between concern for tasks (scale 5) and
29
concern for people (scale 5). This is the middle-of-the-road
theory and seldom works.
(v) Team leadership style (9.9): The leader reveals a maximum
concern for tasks (scale 9) and people (scale 9). This style
emphasises teamwork, is goal orientated and tries to
achieve outstanding results by participation of
management, people involvement and conflict
management.
It seems, according to figure 2.2, that there are different possible
combinations between concern for people and concern for tasks.
However, from the previous Blake and Mouton give the most important
differences between leaders‘ assumptions toward people, tasks, and
formal authority.
2.2.5 The situational approach
Dissatisfaction with the trait approach, the functional approach, and the
behaviouristic approach led to the formulating of more contemporary
situational leadership theories. The main principle of the situational approach
is according to Schilbach that:
Leadership is specific and always relative to the particular situation in which it occurs. Therefore, who becomes leader or who is the leader of a particular activity is a function of the total situation, which includes not only the leader and the subordinates and other groups to which the leader is related, but also myriad other human, physical and time variables as well.
(Schilbach 1983:108)
According to Van Dyk (1995:374), a wide variety of situational factors is
mentioned in literature. Roebert (1996:123) states that situational leadership
is based on interplay of several factors: The amount of guidance and direction
a leader gives; the amount of support (relationship) a leader provides; and the
30
readiness (maturity level) that followers exhibit in performing a specific task or
in pursuing an objective.
Although there are a wide variety of theories, this dissertation will only focus
on the leadership continuum of Tannenbaum and Schmidt and the situational
leadership theory of Hersey and Blanchard.
2.2.5.1 Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s leadership continuum
Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973:162-181) propagate a leadership continuum
whereby the situational and varying nature of leadership is illustrated. The
continuum contains a variety of leadership styles which range from extremely
leader centred (autocratic) to extremely subordinate centred (democratic), as
demonstrated in figure 2.3.
The continuum illustrates that leadership changes according to the spreading
of the influence between the leader and the subordinates. The leadership
styles vary from left to right, from leader centred to subordinate centred as the
leader exercises less authority and give more influence and freedom to the
subordinates to make their own decisions (Van Dyk 1995:375).
Van Dyk (1995:375) states that although the continuum points out certain
leadership styles, it does not show which style is practical and desirable.
Gerber (1995:375) shows further that there are three factors which determine
the appropriate style: factors in the leader (personality, background,
knowledge and experience), the subordinates (expectations, independence,
sense of responsibility, and knowledge and experience about the problem)
and the situation (the type of organisation, its culture and traditions, the
complexity of the problem, and the time available).
Milton (1981:305) collaborates that the successful leader is one who is aware
of those factors that are most relevant to his or her behaviour at any given
time. He or she accurately understands himself or herself, the individuals and
31
group being directed, and the broader organisational environment.
Furthermore, the successful leader behaves appropriately in light of these
forces.
Figure 2.3 Tannenbaum and Schmidt‘s leadership continuum (1973)
Van Dyk (1995:376) is of the opinion that, though the leadership continuum is
a logical concept with practical applications, it has some shortcomings. Most
prominent is the lack of showing how the situations are to be diagnosed.
32
Furthermore, it is not clear how leadership behaviour should be assessed,
and there is little empiric research done on the leadership continuum.
2.2.5.2 Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory
According to Roebert (1996:123), there is no best way to lead people in
situational leadership. The leadership style a person should use with an
individual or group depends on the maturity level of the people the leader is
endeavouring to lead. This is illustrated by the situational leadership theory of
Hersey and Blanchard in figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4 Hersey and Blanchard‘s situational leadership theory (1982:152)
The following concepts are of importance according to Hersey and Blanchard
(1982:96-154):
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(i) Task behaviour: task behaviour shows to which extent the leader
might organise the tasks of group members and spell out who is to
do what tasks; where, when and how. Task behaviour is further
characterised by the leader‘s establishment of well defined
organisational patterns, channels of communication, and
procedures to do the tasks.
(ii) Relationship behaviour: relationship behaviour shows to which
extent the leader might go to hold interpersonal relationships
between himself and group members by establishing open channels
of communication, the provision of socio-economical support,
psychological stroking, and facilitating the behaviour of group
members.
(iii) Maturity levels: The different levels can be explained as follows:
(M1) Low maturity: Followers who are unskilled in the task and
unwilling or uncertain to do the task.
(M2) Low to moderate maturity: Followers who are willing to learn
and trying to complete the task but are unskilled or otherwise
unable.
(M3) Moderate to high maturity: Followers who are skilled but
unwilling or uncertain to do the task.
(M4) High maturity: Followers who are both skilled and willing to
complete the task.
Roebert (1996:123) defines maturity as the ability and willingness of
a person to take responsibility for directing his personal behaviour.
Different people are at different levels of maturity, but these different
levels should be taken into consideration only in terms of specific
tasks to be performed.
34
For example, a pastor may be excellent in visiting his flock but
casual about completing the paperwork necessary for report back to
his superior. Therefore, it is appropriate for his superior to leave him
alone in terms of visitation but to supervise him closely in terms of
his paperwork until he can effectively cope with that area as well
(Roebert 1996:123).
(iv) Leadership styles: The top half of figure 2.4 is divided into four
segments which each represent a leadership style:
(S1, Q1) Telling:
This is a high task and low relationship leadership style. The leader
tells the subordinates what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and
how to do it. A leader thoroughly formulates the tasks of
subordinates without explaining to them why the task must be done
or certain procedures must be followed.
(S2, Q2) Selling:
This is a high task and high relationship leadership style. Through
two-way communication and explanation, the leader tries to sell to
the subordinates the desired patterns of behaviour and action.
(S3, Q3) Participating:
This is a high relationship and low task leadership style. This style
opens the door for two-way communication and active listening and
thus supports the efforts of the subordinates to use their ability they
already have. This is a supportive, non-directive participating style.
(S4, Q4) Delegating:
This is a low relationship and low task leadership style. This style
provides little direction or support but has the highest probability of
being effective. Although the leader still may be involved in
identifying problems, the responsibility for carrying out the plans is
given to these mature subordinates. As a result, they are permitted
to run the show and decide on the how, when and where.
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According to Hersey and Blanchard (1982:154), the key to situational
leadership is to assess the maturity level of the subordinate and to relate to
him as the model suggests or prescribes. To determine which leadership style
is relevant for a given situation, Schilbach (1983:169) suggests that the leader
must first determine the maturity level of subordinates, whether individually or
as a group, for the assigned task.
Implicit in situational leadership, according to Roebert (1996:125), is the idea
that the leader should help his followers grow in maturity as far as they are
able and willing to go. He explains that change may occur, regardless of the
maturity level of an individual or group. Whenever the follower‘s performance
begins to slip, the leader should reassess his or her maturity level and move
backward through the curve, providing appropriate relational support and
direction.
The situational approach to leadership, according to Schilbach (1983:183), will
probably give the best rise to effective leadership behaviour, because it
makes provision for different ways of behaviour by the leader in different
situations. No one leadership style, specific leadership functions or leadership
attributes are recommended as the best under all circumstances.
2.2.6 Alternative approaches
The range is too vast to detail in this dissertation. However, it is useful to take
a very brief look at a few alternative approaches in leadership thinking that
has developed.
2.2.6.1 Charisma, vision, transformation
According to Kippenberger (2002:20) in the mid- to late-1970‘s Robert House,
Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Pennsylvania‘s
Wharton School, began revisiting the concept of charismatic leadership first
put forward by German sociologist Max Weber at the turn of the twentieth
36
century. A significant amount of effort has since gone into trying to identify the
characteristics of charismatic leaders.
Essentially charismatic leaders according to Kippenberger (2002:20) are seen
to have a powerful vision, a great deal of self-confidence, a strong conviction
that they are right, and an assertive, even dominant, personality. This makes
them highly effective in crises or periods of significant change. However, it can
also make them potentially dangerous, especially if they choose the wrong
vision. Either way, ―charismatic‖ is not a style that can be adopted without
charisma.
Coinciding with this renewed interest in charisma, a seminal book,
Leadership, by political author James MacGregor Burns, was published in
1978. In his book, MacGregor Burns distinguished between transactional and
transformational leadership. In a movement that continues today,
transactional leaders who lack vision were soon told to make way for a new
breed of transformational leaders capable of reviving the corporate world. The
study of this very different style of leadership also marked a clear break with
the more mundane approach of earlier researchers (Kippenberger 2002:20).
2.2.6.2 Empowerment, coaching, mentoring
The shift to more open, flatter organisations has also led to a greater
concentration on empowering people to make decisions on their own and an
increased emphasis on the leadership role of coach and mentor
(Kippenberger 2002:21). Coaches according to Goleman (2002) help people
identify their unique strengths and weaknesses, tying those to their personal
and career aspirations. Coaches encourage employees to establish long-term
development goals, and help them to conceptualise a plan for reaching those
goals.
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2.2.6.3 Team leadership
One of the earliest proponents of team working and team leadership is John
Adair who developed an Action-Centred Leadership Model in the 1970‘s. As
organisations have tried to demolish internal boundaries and open up their
hierarchical functional silos, the use of teams as a means of getting work done
has become prolific. This has provided a rich training ground for acquiring and
developing leadership skills in a relatively risk-free environment. However, it
has also put a great deal of pressure on many who aspire to leadership
because their preferred styles do not fit well with working in teams
(Kippenberger 2002:20-21).
2.2.6.4 Servant leadership
Another, less prominent model of leadership, which has been growing in
influence recently, is one proposed by Robert Greenleaf. Described as the
originator of the empowerment movement for his work in the 1970‘s called
The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf proposed a leadership style that brought
out people‘s full potential by freeing them up so that they could achieve their
best. According to Kippenberger (2002:56), Greenleaf wanted to replace
―enforced compliance‖ with ―enthusiastic engagement,‖ and articulated a
vision of leadership as something much more than coercive and manipulative
power. Greenleaf argued for a style of leadership designed to make people
altogether freer, wiser, and healthier.
At a simplified level, the basic tenets of servant leadership can be defined
according to Kippenberger (2002:57) as:
(i) Recognise other people‘s unique qualities, treat them as real
people. Empathise with them, but don‘t be condescending;
(ii) Listen intently;
(iii) Be truly aware – seeing things, as they really are not how
you might wish them to be. This goes for self-awareness too;
38
(iv) Involve people directly in building and improving the
organisation;
(v) Engage people, building consensus, persuade – don‘t force
compliance;
(vi) Be intuitive, use your powers of foresight;
(vii) Be a visionary, dream dreams;
(viii) See yourself as a steward, leading the organisation on trust;
and
(ix) Develop a deep sense of community among everyone in the
organisation and work for the greater good of society.
From a theoretical concept according to Kippenberger (2002:58), servant
leadership has suddenly been propelled into the media spotlight and can be
seen to have accomplished remarkable results. This style of leadership is
highly personal to the individual leader. It is not a style of leadership that can
be learnt, though one can learn about it, nor is it a Band-Aid that can be
quickly stuck onto an organisation in trouble.
2.3 LEADERSHIP STYLES IN CHURCH LEADERSHIP
2.3.1 Introduction
Church leadership as mentioned earlier has some resemblances with
leadership in general. Burger (1999:21) states that the functioning of a church
is not that different from other groups or organisations, there are many
resemblances. Just as the body of a Christian does not work differently from
the body of other people, the church, as the body of Christ, doesn‘t function
differently in all aspects from other corporate bodies.
This according to Burger (1999:21) ought to be a good opportunity for
churches to learn from the research being done in the fields of sociology,
cultural anthropology, management science and organisational theories. One
important aspect is that the information must fit and integrate into the wider
theological understanding of the church in an honourable way. Theology and
39
the social sciences are not equal. According to Burger (1999:22), the church
is firstly a spiritual reality that must be theologically understood and described.
After that the theological theories can be complemented, nuanced, refined,
and even deepened by other insights and truths.
The question many church leaders face is whether the principles that make
people successful leaders in sports or business are equally valid when applied
to leadership issues in the church. Do leadership principles found in secular
writing and seminars apply to work done in the church? According to Blackaby
(2001:10) and Adams (1980:336), the trend among many church leaders has
been for an almost indiscriminate and uncritical acceptance of contemporary
leadership theory without measuring it against the timeless precepts of
Scripture.
2.3.2 Approaches to church leadership
2.3.2.1 Functional approach
In the literature on church leadership, it seems that the general approach is to
focus on what is being done in and through church leadership. According to
Damazio (1988:2) and Barna (1997:25) what is being done in and through
leadership, can be described as the functional aspects of leadership. Adams
(1980:329) emphasise that church leadership is only functional and must be
approached as functional.
Habecker (1996:11) sets a condition namely, that it must only be used to
imitate and harmonise with Biblical principles. Sanders (1967:20-21) shows
that though there are resemblances between leadership in general and
church leadership there are other factors in church leadership that must be
taken into account. This other factors in the context of church leadership are
supplementary and sometimes dominating, for example church leaders do not
influence people through their natural personality, but through their personality
that is enlightened by the Holy Spirit which transfuses and equips them.
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2.3.2.2 Spiritual approach
Literature also shows another approach to church leadership, namely a
spiritual approach. According to this approach, the emphasis is put on the fact
that church leadership has some determining spiritual aspects. According to
Crossland (1955:20) one of the most important aspects that plays a
determining role in church leadership is the prerequisite that church leaders
already have a relationship with God in which they are growing toward Christ
likeness and that they are discovering and doing the will of God through
wisdom, self sacrifice, and cooperation with others.
Means (1990:55), Dibbert (1989) and Blackaby (2001:20) try to make these
other factors come into their own right by showing that the essence of church
leadership is spiritual leadership. According to Sibthorpe (1984:11-12), church
leadership is service to God and fellow man or believers, which gives another
dimension to church leadership in that it is not only people oriented like in
corporate leadership. Gangel (1974:31) also shows that church leadership
can and must be approached as the use of spiritual gifts to serve a group of
people in the reaching of their God-given goals.
2.3.2.3 Two major behaviour dimensions
Literature about church leadership also emphasises two major behaviour
dimensions, task-oriented and people-oriented. Malphurs (2003:93) and
Means (1990:101) agree that task-oriented leadership emphasises ministry
accomplishments and includes activities such as discovering and articulating
core values, determining a mission, designing a strategy, preaching and
teaching the Bible, organising the ministry, providing structure, defining role
responsibilities and expectations, scheduling ministry activities, defining
policy, assigning ministry load, and evaluating ministry performance.
According to Means (1990:102), Jesus was the perfect leader. He was
passionately devoted to getting the job done, and nothing deterred him from
the mission committed to him by the Father:
41
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
Jn 6:38 (NIV)
Malphurs (2003:93) and Means (1990:101) agree that people-oriented
leadership values the concerns and needs of people and includes activities
such as building camaraderie, developing trust, developing teams, motivating
followers, providing good ministry conditions, nurturing and supporting
followers, building biblical community, promoting interpersonal relationships,
counselling those needing direction, comforting the distressed, encouraging
the discouraged, and other Biblical functions. An example is Paul‘s comment
on his ministry to the church at Thessalonica when he says‖
We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
1 Thess 2:7 (NIV)
According to Malphurs (2003:93,94), a leader‘s style reveals how he or she
uses either task or people behaviours or both, to influence followers to
accomplish the ministry‘s God-given mission. Effective leadership depends on
how the leader balances task and people‘s behaviour in his or her unique
ministry context. Malphurs (2003:94) and Hybels (2002:141) are of the opinion
that there is perhaps more than one particular style, depending on the specific
ministry needs. Different ministry contexts require different leadership styles.
All leaders will have an inherent, primary leadership style but will also need to
adjust, as much as their inherent style will allow them to fit the context where
they exercise leadership.
Excellence in leadership behaviour according to Means (1990:101) requires
both task and people orientation. The best leadership is not a balance
between task and social dimensions, as though the leader is partly task
oriented and partly socially oriented, or sometimes one and sometimes the
other. Rather, the leader must be interested in both dimensions of leadership,
never neglecting one for the other.
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Means (1990:101) argues that every leader has a tendency in one direction or
another and perfect balance is probably impossible to attain, but the best
leaders concentrate on both dimensions. Means (1990:101) explains that task
emphasis may be predominant when the group is unmotivated, indifferent, or
lazy about achieving goals. Alternatively, people orientation may be
predominant when the group is fragmented or when policy-making issues are
being addressed. Nevertheless, the best leaders do not favour one orientation
at the expense of the other.
As Jesus was passionately devoted to getting the job done, he was equally
passionate about the welfare of individuals and the unity of the body (Means,
1990:102),:
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one.
Jn 17:11 (NIV)
Similarly, Paul was só task oriented that he was determined to preach the
gospel throughout Asia and then in Rome and Spain (Means, 1990:102):
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God‘s grace.
Acts 20:24 (NIV)
Yet, Paul was zealous for the unity of the church, and he was devoted to his
interpersonal relationships with Timothy, Titus, Silas, Onesiphorus, Lydia,
Phoebe, and many others. Task and people merged in his thinking; it was
unthinkable to divorce the two. Gangal (1974:10) points out that it is a style
that recognises the inherent value of the individual and the worth of human
relations not only as a means to an end, but also as an end in itself within the
church.
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2.3.2.4 Alternative approaches
2.3.2.4.1 David Pytches
David Pytches (1998:12) describes some leadership styles currently found in
churches as management, sergeant-majorism, pastoral enabling, gifted
teaching and prophetic inspiration.
(i) The manager – is preoccupied with administration and
efficiency.
(ii) The sergeant major – is preoccupied with control and power,
appearance, precision and order.
(iii) The pastor - is preoccupied with care and counselling.
(iv) The teacher – is preoccupied with instructing, challenging and
enlightenment.
(v) The prophet – is preoccupied with dreams, visions and other
world realities.
According to Pytches (1998:12), a church leader can be an effective leader
without adopting any of the five styles, but that the possession and exercise of
some of these gifts will certainly enhance the effectiveness of any church
leader.
2.3.2.4.2 Bill Hybels
Bill Hybels (2002:139,141) is of the opinion that leadership has many faces
and that certain leadership styles fit better than others with specific church or
ministry needs. Hybels (2002:139) formed his different styles of leadership
and theories after reading a book called Certain Trumpets: The Call of
Leaders (1994) by author Garry Wills and observing church leaders for many
years. Hybels (2002:140) states that all church leaders have the spiritual gift
of leadership, but they express that gift in varied ways. Next, the researcher
will take a very brief look at Hybels‘ different styles of leadership (Hybels
2002:141-156):
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(i) The visionary leadership style
The visionary leader has a clear picture in mind of what the future could hold.
Such a leader casts powerful visions and has indefatigable enthusiasm for
turning those visions into reality. Visionary leaders shamelessly appeal to
anybody and everybody to get on board with their vision. They are idealistic,
faith filled leaders who believe that if they cast their vision clearly enough and
often enough it will become reality. They are not easily discouraged or
deterred.
Visionary leaders may or may not have the natural ability to form teams, align
talents, set goals, or manage progress towards the achievement of the vision.
To be either effective over the long term they will have to find other people
who can help them or they will have to work very hard to develop the skills
that do not come naturally to them.
(ii) The directional leadership style
The directional style of leadership does not get much press, but it is
exceedingly important. The strength of this leader is his uncanny, God-given
ability to choose the right path for an organisation as it approaches a critical
intersection. A critical intersection is that point when an organisation, a
department, or a church starts asking, ―Which course should we take?‖
A leader with a directional style is able to sort through all the options. He or
she can carefully assess the values of the organisation, the mission, the
strengths, the weaknesses, the resources, the personnel, and the openness
to change. With remarkable wisdom, the directional leader points the church
or ministry in the right direction. This style of leadership is extremely important
because mistakes at key intersections can wreck organisations.
(iii) The strategic leadership style
Strategic leaders have the God-given ability to take an exciting vision and
break it down into a series of sequential, achievable steps. This gift of
45
leadership allows an organisation to march intentionally towards the
actualisation of its mission.
Strategically oriented leaders form a plan that everybody can understand and
participate in. They will also strive to bring the various subgroups of an
organisation into alignment so that the entire organisation‘s energy will be
focused towards realising the vision. Every church and every organisation
needs someone who provides this critical strategic component to the
leadership team.
(iv) The managing leadership style
It is often said that ―leaders do right things, while managers do things right.‖
The managing leader is someone who has the ability to organise people,
processes, and resources to achieve a mission. The managing leader
salivates at the thought of bringing order out of chaos. He finds deep
satisfaction in monitoring and fine-tuning a process, and motivates team
members by establishing appropriate mile markers on the road to the
destination.
Managing leaders seldom captivate attention, as do those who give the
inspiring vision talks, make the critical decisions, or put the strategic plans in
place. However, in the day-to-day operational world, someone has to manage
people and progress to move the organisation towards its goals.
(v) The motivational leadership style
Motivational leaders have that God-given ability to keep their team-mates fired
up. They are on the constant lookout for ―sagging shoulders and dull eyes,‖
and they move quickly to inject the right kind of inspiration into those who
need it most. They have a keen sense about who needs public recognition
and who needs just a private word of encouragement. They seem to know
exactly when a particular team member will get a necessary boost from a day
off, an office move, a title change, or a training opportunity.
46
Motivational leaders realise that even the best team-mates get tired out and
lose focus. They do not get bitter or vengeful when morale sinks. They view it
as an opportunity to dream of new ways to inspire and lift the spirits of
everyone on the team.
(vi) The shepherding leadership style
The shepherding leader is a leader, who builds a team slowly, loves team
members deeply, nurtures them gently, supports them consistently, listens to
them patiently, and prays for them diligently. This kind of leader draws team
members into such a rich community experience that their hearts begin to
overflow with good will that energises them for achieving their mission.
Shepherding leaders tend to draw people together almost regardless of their
cause. Under a shepherding leader, the range of vision can be very broad, but
what really matters are the community dynamics. They may not excel at
casting visions or putting strategic plans in place, but their unique ability to
shepherd people enables them to make a huge difference.
(vii) The team-building leadership style
The team-building leader knows the vision and understands how to achieve it,
bur realises it will take a team of leaders and workers to accomplish the goal.
Team-builders have a supernatural insight into people with the right abilities,
the right character, and the right chemistry with other team members. They
also know how to put these people in the right positions for the right reasons,
thus freeing them to produce the right results.
The difference between the shepherding leader and the team-building leader
is that the team-builder is driven more by a clear understanding of the vision
than by the desire to nurture and build community. The unique strength of
team-building leaders is that they have a stranglehold on the strategy and an
acute insight into people that allows them to make precise placements of
personnel into critical leadership roles.
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(viii) The entrepreneurial leadership style
Entrepreneurial leaders may possess any of the other leadership styles, but
what distinguishes these leaders from the others is that they function optimally
in start-up mode. If these leaders cannot regularly give birth to something new
they begin to lose energy. Once a venture is up and operational, once the
effort requires steady ongoing management, once things get complicated and
require endless discussions about policies, systems, and controls, then most
entrepreneurial leaders lose enthusiasm, focus, and sometimes even
confidence.
At this point, they start peeking over the fence and wondering if it might be
time to start something new. They may feel terribly guilty at the thought of
leaving the ministry, organisation, or department they started, but eventually
have to face the truth: if they cannot give birth to something brand new every
few years, something inside of them starts to die. This style is important in the
church.
(ix) The re-engineering leadership style
While entrepreneurial leaders love to start new endeavours, re-engineering
leaders are at their best in turn-around environments. These leaders are gifted
by God to thrive on the challenge of taking a troubled situation – a team that
has lost its vision, a ministry where people are in wrong positions, a
department trying to move forward without a strategy – and turning it around.
These leaders enthusiastically dig in to uncover the original mission and the
cause of the mission drift, and they re-evaluate personnel, strategy, and
values. They repeatedly meet with team members to help them figure out
where the ―old‖ went wrong and what the ―new‖ should look like and then prod
team members on to action.
Re-engineering leaders love to path up, tune up, and revitalise hurting
departments or organisations. But when everything is back on track and
48
operating smoothly, these leaders may or may not be motivated to stay
engaged. Some are content to stick around and enjoy the fruits of their labour,
but many prefer to find another department or organisation that needs to be
overhauled.
(x) The bridge-building leadership style
Bridge-building leaders make important contributions to large organisations
such as parachurch ministries, denominations, and educational institutions
because they have the unique ability to bring together under a single
leadership umbrella a wide range of constituent groups. This enables a
complex organisation to stay focused on a single mission.
The unique gift that bridge-building leaders bring to this feat is enormous
flexibility. They are diplomats who possess a supernaturally inspired ability to
compromise and negotiate. They are specially gifted to listen, understand, and
think outside the box. But above everything else, bridge-builders love the
challenge of relating to diverse groups of people.
The goal of a bridge-building leader is to become an effective advocate for
each constituent group in such a way that it creates a win-win situation for
everyone involved. The bridge-builder does this by helping each group
develop a healthier perspective, realise that they can meet the needs of their
sub-ministry, and contribute to the achievement of the overall mission as well.
Dealing with complexity, is a bridge-building leader‘s forte.
2.3.2.4.3 Mentoring
According to Clinton (1988:130), God has given some people the capacity and
the heart to see leadership potential and to take private and personal action to
help the potential leader develop. That action usually becomes a form of
significant guidance for the potential leader. Mentoring according to Clinton
(1988:130) refers to the process where a person with a serving, giving,
encouraging attitude, the mentor, sees leadership potential in a still-to-be
49
developed person, the protégé, and is able to promote or significantly
influence the protégé along in the realisation of potential. A mentoring process
item refers to the process and results of a mentor helping a potential leader.
The mentor is a special kind of divine contact, one who may offer prolonged
help or guidance.
Clinton (1988:131) states that not everyone is suited to be a mentor. Mentors
are people who can readily see potential in a person. They can tolerate
mistakes, brashness, and abrasiveness in order to see potential develop.
They are flexible and patient, recognising that it takes time and experience for
a person to develop. Mentors have vision and ability to see down the road and
suggest next steps that a protégé needs for development.
2.3.2.4.4 Servant leadership
According to Richards and Hoeldtke (1980:103), ‗servanthood‘ in our culture is
not highly respected. People strive to be possessors, not the possessed. They
want others to serve their needs; they are not enthusiastic about setting aside
their own concerns to serve others.
However, Richards and Hoeldtke (1980:104) state that to be named a
―servant‖ by God is no invitation to an inferior calling. God‘s servants are
always special to Him. Servanthood is a high and special calling that involves
a covenantal relationship with God. It is not a forced obedience to a
thoughtless master. There is instead a willing commitment by the servant to a
master who fully commits himself to the servant as well (Richards and
Hoeldtke 1980:104).
The basic attitude of the servant-leader is sketched in both the Old and the
New Testaments. In a striking incident, reported in two of the Gospels, Jesus
goes beyond attitude to define more clearly the servant‘s leadership style.
More than a servant‘s heart is required, there is also to be a servant‘s method
(Richards and Hoeldtke 1980:106):
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You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mt 20:25-28 (NIV)
According to Richards & Hoeldtke (1980:109), this passage attacks many
ingrained presumptions about leadership and helps define how a servant
leads. The most striking and significant element of the passage is seen in the
simple words: ―Not so with you.‖ In these words, Jesus cuts off all those
approaches to leadership that are implied in the ruler style. Jesus limits
leaders to a leadership that finds expression in servanthood and relies on a
servant‘s seeming weakness.
Yet, the servant style brings victory. The servant-leader will bring the body into
a harmonious relationship and will lead its members toward maturity. The
living Lord will act through His servants to work out His own will (Richards &
Hoeldtke 1980:109).
According to Marshall (1991:68) Robert Greenleaf in his seminal book The
Servant as Leader (1970), says there are two kinds of leaders. Firstly, there
are the strong natural leaders. In any situation they are the ones who naturally
try to take charge of things, make the decisions and give the orders.
Generally, they are driven by assertiveness, acquisitiveness, or dominance.
Secondly, there are the strong natural servants who assume leadership simply
because they see it as a way in which they can serve.
Marshall (1991:69) emphasise that servant refers to the leader‘s nature not to
leadership style. There are leaders who are task oriented and leaders who are
people oriented, there are leaders who are highly directive, leaders who
function collaboratively and leaders who are democratic in their decision-
making styles. On the other hand, what is the most effective style for a
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particular occasion is also situational determined. According to Marshall
(1991:70), servant leadership can be found right across the entire continuum
of leadership styles, or it can be absent, regardless of the style adopted.
According to Marshall (1991:71-73), leadership that springs from a true
servant nature will manifest the following characteristics:
(i) Paramount aim is always the best interests of those they lead.
(ii) Paramount satisfaction lies in the growth and development of
those they lead.
(iii) There is a willing acceptance of obligation.
(iv) Has a desire for accountability.
(v) Has caring love for those they lead.
(vi) Is willing to listen.
(vii) Have genuine humility of heart and because of that a realistic
and sound judgment as to the things they can do well and the
things they cannot.
(viii) Is willing to share power with others so that they are empowered.
2.4 MALPHURS’ LEADERSHIP STYLE INVENTORY
2.4.1 Introduction
As discussed in Chapter 1 surveys can either be structured or unstructured.
Structured surveys have specific questions relating to the subject while
unstructured surveys leave it to the respondent to express him or herself
relating to the subject in his or her own words. For this dissertation, the
Malphurs‘ leadership style inventory will be used to help explore and expand
the understanding of the respondents‘ leadership styles.
There are, according to Malphurs (2003:94), four dominant leadership styles
that balance task and people behaviour in a ministry context. All leaders have
characteristics of one or more of them. A Leader will have a primary
leadership style, a secondary and possibly a tertiary style that will affect his or
52
her primary style. While there are four primary leadership styles, the leader‘s
style will likely be a combination of two or more of these. The four major and
prominent styles can be referred to as director, inspirational, diplomat, and
analytical (Malphurs 2003:95-100) and can be explained as follows:
2.4.2 Director
The Director is a task-oriented leader. As such, the Director brings strength to
organisations that need more focus on accomplishing ministry. A Director
often gravitates to lead positions and make good primary leaders in church
and parachurch contexts or leaders within those ministries. If you want
something accomplished, assign it to a Director. A Director loves a challenge
and will get the job done.
The Director is a proactive, risk taking, hard charging, challenging leader who
sets a fast pace for his or her ministry. Studies indicate that the Director often
makes a good church planter and church revitaliser, especially if he or she
has some indication that their secondary characteristic is that of the
Inspirational leader.
The Director is often change-oriented and attempt to bring change to most
ministry contexts, and excels at the task-oriented aspects of leadership. The
Director is a visionary and may set lofty goals for his ministry and then
regularly challenge people to accomplish those goals. The Director is a
change agent who questions the status quo and may struggle with
maintaining traditions, especially if the traditions prevent the church from
accomplishing its mission.
The Director is a hard worker who seeks opportunities for individual
accomplishments and pursues high personal performance in his or her
ministry. The Director is quick to recognise and take advantage of
opportunities that God brings his way; excel at managing problems, tackling
complex situations, and lead well in crisis situations. Leaders with this
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leadership style are fast decision makers and able to size up a situation
quickly and act on it. A Director who evangelises often takes a direct
approach, and those who preach like to impact people and challenge them to
live for God.
While the Director is a strong, task-oriented leader, he often struggles with the
relational side of leadership. The Director has to resist the temptation to take
control of a ministry and to work around rather than with a ministry team. The
Director can intimidate people who, in response, either give him control or
leave and look for another ministry. He can be bossy, make hasty decisions,
and appear cold and unfeeling. Some Directors need to learn how to relax and
enjoy people.
The Director must consider others‘ needs as well as his or her own. The
Director has a tendency to judge people based solely on their ministry
performance. Consequently, ministries the Director leads can be too task-
oriented with little regard for relational issues. The Director can balance this
somewhat by working hard at developing people skills. The Director would
benefit as a leader by teaming with those who have complementary ministry
skills and by listening to wise counsel.
2.4.3 Inspirational
The Inspirational leader is a people-oriented leader who brings this strength to
ministries that needs a more relational orientation. Like the Director, the
Inspirational often gravitate to lead and will lead best in ministry situations that
call for an inspiring, motivational, compelling, exciting, sincere leader.
Preferring to work in teams, the Inspirational likes to share leadership, and
wants people to enjoy ministry and will insist on having fun. The Inspirational
does not do well in strong, controlling environments where there is little
freedom to lead and for self-expression and will work hard at changing such
circumstances. The Inspirational is a change agent who is open to new ways
of ministry and sets a fast pace for the ministries he or she heads.
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The Inspirational makes a good pastor in a variety of situations, such as
church planting and healthy church and parachurch contexts and will struggle
somewhat in difficult situations where people are fighting with one another and
will work hard at bringing them together. The Inspirational performs best in
situations where there is moderate control. Studies indicate that an
Inspirational with strong Directoral qualities is very good at revitalisation.
The Inspirational leader is called an influencer because he or she tends to be
a natural leader, especially in relating well to others. People who work with the
Inspirational appreciate his or her visionary capabilities and the warm,
personable way they relate. While being sensitive to a ministry‘s history, the
Inspirational will also have a nose for new opportunities, and is a good
trouble-shooter in a crisis and has the ability to inspire people to work together
in good spirit.
The Inspirationals are often articulate, and, when preaching or teaching,
speak with emotion and their style of evangelism is very relational. Generally,
the Inspirational relates to people on a more emotional than intellectual level.
In their messages, they seek to inspire and motivate with insight from the
Scriptures. Some Inspirational leaders gravitate toward and enjoy counselling
and supporting others.
Some Inspirational leaders can be loud and obnoxious, and enjoy being the
centre of things. The Inspirational struggles with details, rules, and unpleasant
tasks. The Inspirational wants to be liked by all; consequently, seeking to
please people, and this means that the Inspirational will shy away from
confronting those who are problematic.
While strong relationally, the Inspirational may struggle at accomplishing
necessary leadership tasks, starting projects that they never finish because,
when the newness wanes, they become bored and restless. The Inspirational
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may often miss deadlines, ignore paperwork, misjudge others‘ abilities, and
struggle with time management.
2.4.4 Diplomat
The Diplomat is a people-oriented leader who, like the Inspirational, brings a
more relational orientation to the ministry context. The Diplomat will lead best
in situations that calls for a leader who is caring, supportive, friendly, and
patient.
The Diplomat is a strong team player who leads well in specialty areas, such
as small groups, counselling situations, and other ministries where a
supportive leader is needed. Those who opt to pastor churches most often
pastor smaller churches (two hundred people and less). However, they often
minister best in a more subordinate role than as an organisational leader. The
Diplomat struggles in situations where there is bickering and disharmony, and
finds it hard to deal with uncertainty about the future. The Diplomat prefers a
slower ministry pace with standard operating procedures, and resists
changing environments because of a concern about the risks change brings
and how it will affect people.
Other leaders praise the Diplomat for his or her loyalty and support, especially
in difficult times. These same leaders appreciate the Diplomats for taking
direction, accepting, and following instructions without hesitation. The
Diplomat is most skilled in ministering to and calming the troubled and
disgruntled. They have learned to listen well so that people feel heard and
understood. The Diplomat is a great team player, and will cooperate well with
team-mates in accomplishing ministry tasks. People also admire the
Diplomat‘s commonsense approach to ministry.
Because the Diplomat is very patient and supportive, they get along well with
most people in the ministry organisation. They take responsibility willingly and
follow through on their promises. As evangelists, they prefer a relational style.
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Those who speak or preach like to console, comfort, and encourage others
with the Scriptures.
Some people complain that the Diplomat is só nice that it is hard to be angry
with them when they need to be. The Diplomat can be so loyal to leaders and
ministries that they miss God-given opportunities and be so soft-hearted that
they fail to confront and deal with difficult people.
The Diplomat needs to work hard at developing task-oriented skills, such as
being more assertive and learning how to say no when overly stressed. The
Diplomat must also learn not to blame himself when others fail and in difficult
situations, they tend to seek compromise rather than consensus. The
Diplomat would benefit from being more proactive and taking the initiative in
ministry opportunities.
2.4.5 Analytical
The Analytical is a task-oriented leader. The Analytical leads well in ministry
situations calling for people who are factual, probing, and detail-oriented and
who demand high quality. The Analytical does well in an academic or teaching
setting, such as in Bible College or seminary classroom and also function well
as pastors of churches that value a strong pulpit characterised by deep Bible
teaching – the teacher-pastor model. The Analytical will often teach Sunday
school and similar classes in churches where people want in-depth Bible
teaching.
The Analytical may struggle with other vital organisational leadership
functions, such as vision casting, team development, change management,
strong direction, and risk taking, all of which are key factors to ministry in the
twenty-first century. In churches the Analytical tend to lead better in support
positions where they know what is expected of them and they have
responsibility for more individual accomplishments, such as preparing for and
teaching a class.
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The Analytical does not lead well in situations where there is dissatisfaction
and conflict, such as in a revitalisation context and struggle with fast-paced,
change-oriented ministries because they are concerned that change may
adversely affect the accuracy and quality of ministry. The Analytical also
prefer not to work with strong leaders, such as Directors, who often focus
more on reaching people and doing ministry than on analysing ministry
results.
The Analytical is a conscientious, self-disciplined leader who is a self-starter,
and prefers assignments requiring analytical and critical skills in problem
solving. Good at evaluating their church and ministry programs, they tend to
hold their church to its theological anchorage. People who work with the
Analytical appreciate his or her ability to be consistent and dependable.
The Analytical relates to people more on an intellectual than an emotional
level and often ask ―why‖ questions that helps others think deeply. They prefer
to do evangelism as apologists rather than confronters or relaters. Some
people are attracted to the Analytical for their careful, accurate Bible teaching.
When the Analytical preach they prefer to cover the Bible in depth, using lots
of facts and details to support their conclusions.
In leadership roles, the Analytical attempts to maintain the status quo or even
looks to the past and tradition for direction. Consequently, they may not see
the need to move into the future and consider new ministry approaches.
People often complain that the Analytical are too picky and become so
involved in getting accurate facts and details that they fail to complete ministry
assignments. The Analytical have a tendency to be critical of innovative
leaders who do ministry differently, and they may even stir up negative
feelings toward them.
The Analytical leader often needs to work hard at the relational aspects of
ministry. They tend to overwhelm and intimidate people with their logic and
58
depth of information. At times, they are cool, distant, and reserved. At other
times, they may want to please people. This makes it difficult for those who
want to know the Analytical better and those who work with them on teams.
Developing strong relational ministry skills would greatly benefit the Analytical
leader.
2.5 SUMMARY
Leadership is a definite set of activities that can be listed, learned and lived
out. Leadership is something that can be studied and applied. Scientific
research on leadership did not begin until the 20th century. Since then, there
has been considerable research on the subject, from a variety of perspectives.
A leadership approach consists of a number of leadership theories that is
categorised in one category because of corresponding principles. Although
there are a wide variety of theories, this dissertation only focuses on the trait,
functional, behaviouristic and situational leadership approaches. Some more
recent ideas were also discussed.
A leadership style is generally taken to mean a ―way of behaving‖. The
appropriate leadership style will depend on a wide variety of criteria, including
the relationship between the parties involved, the nature of what needs to be
done, and the match or mismatch between the difficulty of the task and the
competencies available. Current thinking on leadership styles emphasises two
major behaviour dimensions that can be classified as task-oriented and
people- oriented, also known as relationship-oriented.
Church leadership has some resemblances with leadership in general, but
there are other factors in church leadership that must be taken into account.
For example church leaders do not influence people through their natural
personality, but through their personality that is enlightened by the Holy Spirit
which transfuses and equips them. An important aspect is that the information
gained by secular leadership must fit and integrate into the wider theological
understanding of the church in an honourable way. The church is firstly a
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spiritual reality that must be theologically understood and described. After that
the theological theories can be complemented, nuanced, refined, and even
deepened by other insights and truths.
In church leadership, a leader‘s style reveals how he or she uses either task or
people behaviour or both to influence followers to accomplish the ministry‘s
God-given mission. Effective leadership depends on how the leader balances
task and people behaviours in his or her unique ministry context.
Means (1990:80) stated that many church leaders have lost the opportunity to
be effective because they have erred repeatedly by choosing a style of
leadership inappropriate for the circumstances. Means further mentioned that
no amount of theological or theoretical knowledge will compensate for lack of
common sense and discerning judgement in making the right choices in
leadership style.
Given the preceding, it seems as if there is no one best way to lead people.
The above literature study indicate that the leadership style a person should
use with an individual or a group depends on the people the leader is
endeavouring to lead, and the situation. It seems as if there is agreement
amongst the scholars that there is no one type of leadership style that works
in every situation.
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CHAPTER THREE
PERSONALITY AND PERSONALITY TYPES
3.1 INTRODUCTION
The aim of this chapter is to define personality and personality types, and
briefly give an indication of some personality theories, as well as a Christian
perspective on personality, and personality testing.
3.2 DEFINING PERSONALITY AND PESONALITY TYPES
3.2.1 Defining Personality
According to Pervin (1970:1), the term personality does not include all of
human behaviour, though there are a few aspects of human functioning that
do not reflect and express an individual‘s personality. He corroborates that
there is no absolute or generally agreed upon definition as to what personality
is. To the non-professional, it may represent a value judgment - if you like
someone, it is because he has a good personality. Thus, to the non-
professional, the term personality is useful in characterising, in a general way,
what he thinks of another individual. To the scientist and student of
personality, the term is used to define an area of empirical investigation.
Pervin (1970:1) is of the opinion that a definition of personality reflects the
kinds of problems the scientist has decided to study and generally reflects the
kinds of empirical procedures he will use to investigate these problems. Pervin
(1970:2) then defines personality as ―…those structural and dynamic
properties of an individual or individuals as they reflect themselves in
characteristic responses to situations.‖ He explains further that personality
represents the enduring properties of individuals that tend to separate them
from other individuals.
This definition of Pervin (1970:2-3) is quite broad, but it emphasises a number
of different points:
61
(i) It indicates that personality includes both structure and dynamics –
personality is characterised both by parts and by relationships
among these parts. In this sense, it can be viewed as a system.
(ii) Whatever the nature of the functioning of the system, personality is
ultimately defined in terms of behaviour. Furthermore, this
behaviour must lend itself to consensus by investigators in terms of
observations and measurements.
(iii) Personality is characterised by consistencies across all individuals
and by consistencies across groups of individuals, or even by
consistency within a single individual. Important here, is that
personality expresses consistency and regularity.
(iv) The definition indicates that people do not operate in a vacuum, but
rather that they respond to and express themselves in relation to
situations.
According to Meier and others (1996:225), personality is ―the ingrained pattern
of behaviour, thoughts and feelings consistent across situations and time.‖
Although people tend to act differently depending upon whom they are talking
to, there are certain tendencies in behaviour and thinking which persist
regardless of the situation or person.
Personality according to Gross (1992:11) can be thought of as those relatively
stable and enduring aspects of individuals which distinguish them from other
people, making them unique, but which at the same time allow people to be
compared with each other. Gross (1992:879) corroborates that personality is a
hypothetical construct, something which cannot be directly observed but only
inferred from behaviour in order to make sense of it.
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Bernstein and others (1991:535) define personality as the enduring pattern of
psychological and behavioural characteristics by which each person can be
compared and contrasted with other people. This unique pattern of
characteristics makes each person an individual.
In an attempt to make a definition of personality, Meyer (1997:12) considers
the following:
(i) People show little or no change in some respects, while they are
changing continually in others,
(ii) An individual‘s characteristics do not exist or function in isolation,
(iii) People always function in an environment with particular physical,
social and cultural features, and that this context co-determines
their behaviour.
Meyer (1997:12) then defines personality as:
―…the constantly changing but relatively stable organisation of all physical, psychological and spiritual characteristics of the individual, which determine his or her behaviour in interaction with the context in which the individual finds himself or herself.‖
He corroborates that different theorists have different views about exactly
what kind of characteristics determine the person‘s behaviour. Some
behaviourists do not acknowledge spiritual attributes as being determinants of
behaviour.
Given the preceding, the researcher concludes that there is no absolute or
generally agreed upon definition of personality. For the purposes of this
dissertation the researcher chose the definition of Gross (1992:11):
―Personality is those relatively stable and enduring aspects of individuals
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which distinguish them from other people, making them unique, but which at
the same time allow people to be compared with each other‖.
3.2.2 Personality types
According to Bernstein and others (1991:553), a personality type is a discrete
category. When people are typed, they belong to one class (male) or another
(female).
According to Keirsey and Bates (1984:3), Jung said that people are different
in fundamental ways even though they all have the same multitude of instincts
(archetypes) to drive them from within. One instinct is no more important than
another, what is important is people‘s preference for how they "function."
People‘s preference for a given "function" is characteristic, and so they may
be "typed" by this preference. Thus, Jung invented the "function types" or
"psychological types‖
It is an age-old dream to be able to classify people into a few basic kinds of
personalities. The attempt to establish types of people goes back at least as
far as Hippocrates, a physician of ancient Greece. Other dispositional
theorists have tried to relate the appearance that people inherit to the type of
personality they develop. Many people use a personal typing system to make
assumptions about people on a first meeting (Bernstein and others,
1991:552).
The study of the relationship between personality and the face or body is
called physiognomy and goes back to Gall's phrenology. Modern
physiognomy was promoted in the 1940s by William Sheldon, an American
physician and psychologist, who believed that certain body builds were
associated with different temperaments. However, research has not
supported the validity of compressing human personality into a few types
based on facial or bodily characteristics (Bernstein and others, 1991:553).
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3.3 PERSONALITY THEORY
There are several different theoretical approaches of personality (Meyer
1997:14; Gross 1992:11; Meier and others, 1996:225). According to Meyer
(1997:8), we are far from proclaiming a correct or generally acceptable
description and explanation of human functioning.
According to Meyer (1997:7), a personality theory is the outcome of a
purposeful, sustained effort to develop a logically consistent conceptual
system for describing, explaining and or predicting human behaviour. The
particular nature and purpose of this conceptual handling of human behaviour
differs from theory to theory, but it usually includes several of the following:
(i) An underlying view of humankind;
(ii) Certain proposals about the structure of personality and about how
this structure functions;
(iii) Ideas about what motivates human behaviour;
(iv) A description of human development and propositions about ideal
human development;
(v) Reflections on the nature and causes of behavioural problems or
psychopathology;
(vi) An explanation of how human behaviour might be controlled and
possibly changed; and
(vii) Ideas on how to study, measure and predict behaviour.
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Meyer (1997:7) explains that most personality theories have been developed
by psychotherapists, mainly because of their rich experience with a wide
variety of clients. It is also reasonable to expect that a personality theory can
provide a better explanation of human behaviour than common sense.
For Coolican and others (1996:289), theoretical approaches are not as clearly
outlined as theories. They explain that an approach provides a general
orientation or a perspective to a view of humankind. Followers tend to believe
that their way is the most useful or productive way to produce explanations or
theories. They explain that an explanation or theory of human behaviour
rarely becomes the factually correct explanation or theory of all similar
behaviour.
Of the several traditions that have contributed to the understanding of
personality that we have today, a few will be mentioned.
3.3.1 The trait approach
According to Meier and others (1996:225), the trait theory is one of the oldest
theories of personality. Louw and Edwards (1995:564) state that trait theorists
seek to classify people according to a limited number of personality qualities
called traits. Classifications like these can help to simplify a problem. They
are used widely in other sciences. For example, botanists and zoologists
classify plants and animals into different types according to their physical
properties. Bernstein and others (1991:553) are of the opinion that traits are
continuous qualities that individuals possess in different amounts. A person
can possess a lot or a little of some trait or fall anywhere in between on a
measure of that trait.
Many researchers have focused on traits as the building blocks of
personality. They start with the assumption that each personality can be
described in terms of how strong it is on various traits, such as hostility,
dependency, sociability, and the like. Thus, from the trait perspective,
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personality is like a fabric of many different-coloured threads, some bright,
some dull, some thick, some thin, which are never woven together in exactly
the same way twice (Bernstein and others, 1991:553).
Attempts at classifying basic personality types in people go back to, at least,
the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (who lived in the fifth century BC).
Hippocrates believed that there were four basic elements in matter: earth, air,
fire and water, and that each of these were related to a fluid in the body: black
bile, blood, yellow bile, and phlegm. His viewpoint was that if there were an
excess of one of the fluids, a particular personality quality would result.
Galenus, a Roman physician who lived around 150 AD, taught the same
theory - it was believed in Western medicine until the seventeenth century.
People were categorised as phlegmatic (emotionless), choleric (active and
irritable), sanguine (happy), and melancholic (depressive) (Louw and Edwards
1995:564).
According Louw and Edwards (1995:565), Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) taught
that there are four basic temperaments, which he classified as quick versus
slow to react and strong versus weak to react. These two dimensions make a
matrix with four blocks into which the four classical temperaments fit (see
Figure 3.1).
Tim LaHaye in 1971, in his book Transformed Temperaments, attempted to
incorporate these temperaments into a Christian framework, but according to
Meier and others (1996:225), most psychologists would agree that these
categories are conservative. They further state that Sheldon‘s categories, who
maintain that personality is linked to body type, are considered little more than
stereotypes by many psychologists. These categories are the ectomorph who
is a thin fragile, inhibited, and scholarly person; the endomorph is soft and
round, sociable, and affectionate; the mesomorph is strong, muscular, and
noted for courage, aggression, and activity.
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Figure 3.1 Wundt‘s view of temperament (Louw and Edwards, 1995:565)
Meier and others (1996:225) indicate that Allport holds three kinds of traits:
cardinal traits influence personality most; central traits are more common but
not all-consuming; and secondary traits are preferences in given situations.
They state that thousands of traits are possible, in that a trait can be any
characteristic of an individual. Cattell (1973) identified sixteen traits based
upon his research. The many traits possible in different coding systems
account for the popularity of trait theories, but also make this approach highly
questionable.
Meier and others (1996:225-226) state that traits are often oversimplified
descriptions of people. In addition, trait theories tend to overlook the influence
of context upon behaviour. Finally, there is the problem of stereotyping. Traits
do not always cluster together, for example, not all obese people are sociable
like Sheldon suggests.
According to Louw and Edwards (1995:566), human nature is so complex that
personalities cannot be classified conveniently into just a few types. The use
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of continuous dimensions is a much more flexible system for classifying
people. Particular persons can be placed at any point in the matrix depending
on how introverted / extroverted and neurotic / stable they are.
3.3.2 The psychodynamic approach
Psychodynamic theories according to Louw and Edwards (1995:575)
describe the inherent psychological processes that determine personality.
These theories help to answer the second question that personality theorists
are interested in, namely: ―Why do people differ in their ways of thinking,
feeling and acting?‖ These theories were developed by psychotherapists.
According to Louw and Edwards (1995:575), psychotherapy is a method of
relieving emotional distress through helping people to talk about their
problems and to express their feelings. Psychotherapists come to know their
clients very well; sometimes they meet them once or twice a week over
several years. Their theories are based on the intimate knowledge gained
from some of these individuals. Psychodynamic theorists were according to
Louw and Edwards (1995:575) deeply influenced by Freud, but developed
different theories and methods of psychotherapy.
3.3.2.1 Freudian theory
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), an Austrian physician, is thought of as the
founder of psychodynamic theory. Although his ideas are based on theories
propounded by his teachers in the last years of the nineteenth century, Freud
systematised and popularised them. Freud established his own school of
thought, psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is both a personality theory and a
method of practising psychotherapy (Louw and Edwards 1995:575).
Freud saw personality as a matter of hidden, unconscious conflicts between
the id (innate basic drives) and the superego (the socially acquired
conscience). The negotiator between these unconscious components is the
ego or self. According to Freud, conflicts are central to personality, and can be
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dealt with in a number of ways, including defence mechanisms. It seems like
Freud focused on the hidden, negative influences that he saw as most
important to an individual‘s personality. His colleagues and followers took
exception to some of his theories, though most retained the idea of singular
motivation (Meier and others, 1996:226).
3.3.2.2 Carl Jung’s theory
According to Louw and Edwards (1996:585), Carl Jung (1875-1961) worked
with Freud for many years, but developed a very different theory. Jung placed
little emphasis on biological instincts and gave great importance to spiritual
development. Jung‘s theory is probably the most complex of existing
personality theories. He believed that people could continue to grow
psychologically and spiritually throughout life. This process of continuing
development, which he named individuation, has three important aspects:
each person must deal with the persona, the shadow and the archetypes.
These aspects will be explained shortly as per Louw and Edwards (1996:586-
587):
(i) The persona
Jung agreed with Freud that people hide their unacceptable impulses
and present a positive, socially acceptable face to the world. This he
called the persona (the Latin word for mask). As the first step in
individuation, each person must see the persona for what it is: a mask,
a false self, a compromise between the needs of the individual and the
needs of society.
(ii) The shadow
The second aspect of individuation is to come to know the shadow:
those impulses, thoughts and feelings which we do not readily present
in public, and which we hide even from ourselves: our secret pride and
anger, our jealousy and sexual longings, our secret dreams.
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(iii) The archetypes
The collective unconscious also offered immense possibilities for
personal and spiritual development because it contained archetypes.
The confrontation with the archetypes is the third aspect of the
individuation process. The animus and anima will be looked at as
examples of archetypes.
During socialisation, males and females learn different roles and
behaviours. The male stereotype is supposed to be strong and active
but lacks tenderness, softness and nurturing qualities (men do not sew,
cry etc.). Women are supposed to be passive, loving, giving and weak
(they do not play rugby or become angry).
According to Jung, all men and women have the potential to develop a
full range of masculine and feminine qualities. Within a man,
accustomed to being active and strong, lie a hidden tenderness and
sensitivity, and the ability to care in a feminine way. To function in his
totality he must learn how to express these anima qualities alongside
his masculine characteristics. Similarly, each woman has a hidden
masculine side, the animus. She has the potential to be forceful,
assertive and assume a position of leadership, for example. As
individuation takes place, men and women must meet the challenge of
discovering these anima or animus qualities within themselves, and
learn how to experience and express them.
The self-archetype acts as an inner guide, calling the person forward to
new experiences and new discoveries. Each person can learn to hear
and trust this inner voice and to follow it. According to Jung, we must
confront our self-archetype, otherwise we will arrest forward progress,
feel stuck and frustrated and life will become dull and meaningless.
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According to Coolican (1996:294), the most prevalent use of psychoanalytic
principles is encountered in the clinical psychology. It can be said that the
approach is the foundation of all modern individual and group therapy, but
much evolution has occurred and the diversity of what is now available can be
quite bewildering. It is also important to note here that psychoanalytic therapy
techniques are not reserved for the clearly psychologically disturbed. They are
or have been employed in versions of stress management, in play therapy
with children, in training sports participants, in the 'treatment' of interpersonal
problems at work and in work with offenders.
3.3.3 The behavioural approach
According to Meier and others (1996:226), patterns of behaviour, thinking, and
feeling are due to prior contingencies, such as reinforcements, punishments,
and conditioned responses. If taken to its philosophical extreme, this would
mean that people are basically neither good nor bad but rather amoral. Their
personalities are strictly the result of prior conditioning. While a Christian
would have difficulty accepting the philosophical extreme of behaviourism, it is
possible to accept the fact of behavioural influences upon personality.
According to Coolican (1996:295) some common threads of fundamental
behaviourist belief are:
(i) Almost all human behaviour is learned, that is, developed through
experience with and feedback from the environment. It is not the
result of biological instinct.
(ii) Mentalistic events, such as thoughts or ideas, and mystical
concepts, such as instinct, will, feeling, which cannot be observed or
measured cannot form part of an objective, scientific explanation of
human behaviour. Problem behaviour, such as that of a psychiatric
patient, difficult worker or disruptive school pupil, is not explained by
giving it a label (such as mental illness, alienation or delinquency); it
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is best analysed and modified by treating it as a set of individually
observable and modifiable responses to the events in our immediate
environment.
(iii) Behaviour can be investigated scientifically through very careful
observation and measurement; the principles of learning, thus
derived can be applied to learning in humans and therefore to the
treatment of abnormal or unwanted behaviour patterns.
(iv) Behaviour is largely influenced by situations, not personality traits.
(v) Behaviour is best analysed as a set of relatively molecular (small
unit) responses under the control of events in the immediate
environment which have been associated with these responses in
the past.
(vi) A person's feelings may only be assessed by public evidence, such
as a verbal report from the individual, e.g. 'I feel a level 9 stress on a
scale of 1 to 10'.
3.3.4 The humanistic approach
Coolican (1996:303) is of the opinion that the humanistic approach was
intended to take a new direction away from both psychoanalysis and
behaviourism. Coolican (1996:304) state that Carl Rogers, one of humanism‘s
founders, did promote a quantitative scientific evaluation of the results of
psychotherapy but, overall, the approach is opposed to the piecemeal
investigation of aspects of behaviour. It concentrates on the whole self and is
on the other extreme from any reductionism in understanding humans.
According to Coolican (1996:304), the approach is phenomenological which
means that priority is given to whatever people experience, whether or not
others would agree that their experience is actually valid. Objective
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assessment of facts is a suspect activity in this view since each person‘s view
of the world is unique and no one has a claim to a better, more accurate
understanding of reality.
Louw and Edwards (1996:617) give some of the important themes that
developed within humanistic psychology:
(i) Where the behavioural and psychodynamic approaches place a
great deal of emphasis on the individuals‘ past as a determinant
of behaviour, the humanist psychologists place far more
emphasis on the future. They consider that individuals' plans and
future ideals are important determinants of their development.
(ii) In contrast with the behavioural and psychodynamic approaches'
almost exclusive emphasis on environmental influences,
humanistic psychologists are of the opinion that the individuals
themselves exercise an important influence on personal
development. They believe that individuals need not be passive
victims of circumstances, but have a great measure of freedom
to shape their own circumstances. Individuals thus have freedom
of choice and are, therefore responsible for their own behaviour
and development.
(iii) The individual's development never ends; growth takes place
during the entire lifespan. This contrasts sharply with the
viewpoint of certain psychodynamic authors, in particular, which
maintains that the individual‘s growth, practically speaking, ends
during adolescence.
(iv) Humanistic psychologists lay more emphasis on optimum
development than other schools of thought did. They,
particularly, try to determine just how people can achieve their
full potential.
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The researcher will illustrate this approach by examining the work of two well-
known humanist psychologists, Maslow and Rogers.
3.3.4.1 Abraham Maslow: self-actualisation
Abraham Maslow's (1908-1970) enthusiasm for humanistic psychology came
from his personal experience of psychoanalysis. He knew the profound
difference between intellectual understanding and direct experience of change
at an emotional level. However, he found the psychodynamic theories too
limiting to describe the healthy and adequately functioning person. Maslow
played a key role in founding the American Association for Humanistic Psy-
chology in 1960. This served as a focus for the growing influence of the
humanistic approach to personality (Louw and Edwards 1996:618).
Maslow realised that his ideas had close parallels with those of many
existentialists. He set out to describe the personality qualities of people who
lived happy and fulfilling lives. He used the term self-actualisation to refer to
the process of developing one's potential (Louw and Edwards 1996:618,619).
Ten of the attributes Maslow noted in self-actualising people are described
according to Louw and Edwards (1996:619):
(i) Self-actualised people have a clear and efficient perception of
reality.
(ii) They can focus on a problem in a systematic way and work towards
solving it without being sidetracked by becoming preoccupied with
themselves.
(iii) They are spontaneous, expressive and have a natural feeling of
aliveness and zest for living.
(iv) They have a capacity for genuine and lasting love.
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(v) They have a strong sense of self, a sense of their own uniqueness
and a feeling of autonomy.
(vi) They are independent of group pressure and culture. They are not
necessarily non-conformist. However, they set their standards and
make their decisions based on their own sense of what is right
rather than being swayed by demands to conform to the standards
of specific social or cultural groups.
(vii) They are able to accept themselves and others. They are
comfortable with their nature, emotions, impulses and motivations,
weaknesses and strengths. They accept others without being
judgmental or critical.
(viii) They are flexible and open to new experiences.
(ix) Their different personal qualities function as an integrated whole.
(x) Finally, they exhibit community feeling. They feel and show genuine
respect for the needs of others and like to work co-operatively and
fairly.
According to Louw and Edwards (1996:619), whereas Freud implied that our
deepest needs are dangerous and destructive, Maslow concluded that they
could be positive and creative when organised and harnessed in a healthy
manner. This led him to a more optimistic view of human society. If, as Freud
tended to think, human nature is inherently violent, uncontrollable and
dangerous, society must act as an authoritarian police officer. It must limit and
control forbidden impulses, with an inevitable conflict between the needs of
the individual and those of society.
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Maslow further showed in this respect that self-actualisers (Louw and
Edwards 1996:619):
(i) Meet their own needs in a manner that contributes to the well-being
of society;
(ii) Obtain pleasure and satisfaction through doing what is good for
themselves and for others; and
(iii) Do not act virtuously merely out of duty or fear.
Self-actualisers according to Louw and Edwards (1996:619) do not
experience society as a coercive agent, but as an environment in which
growth and creativity can take place, and in which satisfaction can be found
through meeting the challenges of working towards a common good. Meier
and others (1996:226) state that although the Christian should question the
humanist belief that goodness is the fundamental characteristic of humanity,
this does not require a complete dismissal of phenomenological theory.
3.3.4.2 Carl Rogers: the self theory
Carl Rogers assumed that each person responds as an organised whole to
reality as he or she perceives it. He emphasised self-actualisation, which he
described as an innate tendency toward growth that motivates all human
behaviour. To Rogers, personality is the expression of each individual's self-
actualising tendency as it unfolds in that individual's uniquely perceived
reality. If unimpeded, this process results in the full realisation of the person's
highest potential. If the process is let down, that potential may be dampened,
and problems will appear (Bernstein and others, 1991:565-567).
To learn about personality, Rogers relied heavily on unstructured interviews
in which interviewees decided what they wanted to talk about. Given
sufficient freedom and encouragement, said Rogers, people eventually and
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spontaneously reveal whatever is important about their personalities
(Bernstein and others, 1991:565-567).
Central to Rogers's theory is the self, the part of experience that a person
identifies as "I" or "me." According to Rogers, those who accurately
experience the self-with all its preferences, abilities, fantasies, shortcomings,
and desires are on the road to self-actualisation. The progress of those
whose experiences of the self become distorted, however, is likely to be
slowed or even stopped (Bernstein and others, 1991:565-567).
In short, personality is shaped partly by the self-actualising tendency and
partly by others' evaluations. In this way, people come to like what they are
"supposed" to like and to behave as they are "supposed" to behave. To an
extent, this process is adaptive, allowing people to get along in society.
However, it often requires that they stifle the self-actualising tendency and
distort experience. Rogers argued that psychological discomfort, anxiety, or
mental disorder could result when the feelings people let themselves
experience or express are inconsistent, or incongruent, with their true
feelings (Bernstein and others, 1991:565-567).
3.3.5 Alternative theories
Keirsey and Bates (1984:3-4) indicated that there are other alternative
theories: Adler saw all people seeking power and later other things. Sullivan
took up the later Adlerian theme and put social solidarity as the basic
instinctual craving. The Existentialists, for example Fromm, had people
seeking after self. Each appealed to instinct as purpose, and each made one
instinct primary for everybody.
In 1907, Adickes said man is divided into four worldviews: dogmatic,
agnostic, traditional and innovative. In 1920, Kretschmer said abnormal
behaviour was determined by the temperament similar to those of Adickes:
hyperaesthetic, anaesthetic, melancholic and hypomanic. Thus, some people
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are born too sensitive, some too insensitive, some too serious, and some too
excitable. Around 1920 Adler correspondingly points to four "mistaken goals"
people of different makes pursue when upset: recognition, power, service
and revenge. In addition, in 1920, Spranger indicated four human values that
set people apart: religious, theoretic, economic and artistic. The early
twentieth century saw a brief revival of a view presented almost twenty five
centuries earlier by Hippocrates, who, in trying to account for behaviour,
indicated four temperaments clearly corresponding to those of Adickes,
Kretschmer, Adler and Spranger: choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, and
sanguine (Keirsey and Bates 1984:3-4).
By 1930 the views of Jung as well as those of Adickes, Kretschmer, Adler,
Spranger and Hippocrates had all but been forgotten, replaced as they were
by so called "dynamic" psychology on the one hand and "behaviourist"
psychology on the other. Behaviour was now to be explained as due to
unconscious motives or to past experience or both. The idea of temperament
was abandoned (Keirsey and Bates 1984:3-4).
But in the 1950‘s the idea of temperament was revived. Isabel Myers read
Jung's book on psychological types and with her mother, Katheryn Briggs
devised the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a tool for identifying sixteen
different patterns of action. The test was used so widely that it created
international interest in the idea of types of people and revived interest in
Jung's theory of psychological types. However, it also revived interest in the
ancient theory of four temperaments because the sixteen Myers-Briggs types
fell into the four temperaments of Hippocrates, Adickes, Kretschmer,
Spranger and Adler (Keirsey and Bates 1984:3-4).
3.3.6 Summary
Each approach has given rise to various forms of application not necessarily
closely linked to the original theory, which produced it. Many practising
psychologists are also eclectic in their outlook. Thus, a clinical psychologist
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might employ aspects of psychoanalysis with some clients, or at certain points
in treating one client, yet also find behaviour therapy techniques more
effective at other stages of treatment or for different conditions. Thus a
'supermarket' approach cannot be adapted to the different schools of thought
within psychology (Coolican 1996:304,305).
In some areas, there are just two rival theories or explanations and both
cannot be true at the same time. In other areas, the two explanations are
operating more at two different levels and both can be partly valid at their
respective levels. More often than not, the various approaches represent quite
radically different ways of viewing the human being in the environment. It is
very important that the student reader, as well as the practising psychologist,
is clear on the differing implications for behaviour and change that two or
more perspectives on the same topic or issue have to offer (Coolican
1996:304,305).
These traditions are the best known and most acceptable today. Every
researcher must choose that which works for him. The researcher however
does not choose one particular one, but the discussion of the traditions gives
a good basis from which a Christian perspective can be evaluated.
3.4 A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Although it seems that there is not much literature on personality and
personality types from a Christian perspective, there is however a few
attempts to address it.
According to Talbot (1997:102) Christianity has been regarded from the start
to be a religion of revelation. God acted in Christ not only to redeem us and to
put us on the path to future glory, but also to reveal to us life‘s most
fundamentally important truths (Heb 1:1-3; Mk 9:7; Jn 8:37; Gal 1:11; 2Tim
1:8-11). Talbot states that being a Christian means much more that just
accepting these truths and trying to live according to them, but it also never
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means less. For, Christian faith starts in hearing and accepting the word of
Jesus Christ. Christians centre their lives in the truths most fully and most
perfectly disclosed in the life, death, and resurrection of the eternal and
incarnated Word of the Father.
Centring our lives in Christianity‘s revealed truths means centring our lives in
the truth of Scripture. For the Bible gives us God‘s most explicit and complete
―Word‖ on things. This includes God‘s ―Word‖ on matters psychological. Yes,
the Bible is not a work of psychology and even committed Christians can
wonder how the claims about human personality found in such an ancient text
can be relevant to such a distinctively modern discipline (Talbot 1997:103).
Yet, according to Talbot (1997:103) psychology allures us by promising to
help us understand ourselves, to understand what it means to be human,
where our fulfilment lies and how to achieve it, and why things go wrong with
us, as well as how to fix them. Talbot states that because Scripture obviously
addresses the same issues, Christian psychologists should start from what
Scripture says about these things. Scriptures principles ought to govern and
guide all their thinking about human beings.
According to Meier and others (1996:226), there is value to be found from a
Christian perspective in each of the theories in their attempt to develop a
holistic perspective on personality. The Freudian theory underscores the
darker side of the human condition. As Meier and others (1996:226) note, the
id (innate basic drives) is the sin nature that we possess. There is something
fundamentally distorted about human nature, and the Biblical concept of
innate sin is the best explanation for that distortion.
Darling (1969:25) stated that ―…theologians, it would seem, have told us the
truth, but unfortunately they have not told us the whole truth.‖ People also
have something very good about them; they still bear the image of God from
creation, though that image is seriously marred.
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According to Meier and others (1996:227), behavioural theory can help us fill
out the picture of personality. Combining these major theories of personality
with each other and Christian doctrine provides a foundation for a Christian
theory of personality.
Christian wisdom is not merely a product of academic exercise, nor passed on
primarily in classrooms and lecture halls. It is also a disposition of the heart, of
the distinctively Christian personality; and it is passed on through those
practices of church life that nurture the whole soul. It seems that the Christian
understanding of persons depends rather heavily on our being Christian
persons (Roberts 1997:4).
According to Roberts (1997:5) Diogenes Allen proposes that one way the
Christian psychological tradition might be brought into conversation with the
scientific psychology of our time would be to test, by standard empirical
methods, some of the law-like claims that members of the tradition have
made. The desert-fathers, for example, claim that certain emotional states
tend to follow upon submitting to ascetic disciplines such as confinement to
one's cell, and fasting, and that these disciplines, pursued over a fairly long
period of time, can be expected to foster developments of personality such as
purity of heart and serenity. These connectional claims seem to be of a sort
that could be tested through careful observation and mathematical
construction.
On the question: What then is the relation between psychology and theology?
Roberts answered the following:
―Insofar as theology makes statements about human nature and its fulfilment, about proper and improper human motivation, about ways in which the human spirit can develop properly and improperly, then a part of theology seems to be a kind of psychology, and one formally similar to "personality theory." Insofar as psychology indulges in broad and fundamental claims about the
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structure of the psyche, its needs, development, and the shape of its fulfilment, then, while it is not theology proper unless its sets these claims in a context of statements about God, still it is very much the same kind of intellectual product as that part of theology that bears on human nature.‖
(Roberts 1997:10)
Roberts (1997:11) collaborates that one often hears, in Christian circles, a
distinction between emotional problems and spiritual problems, and this may
go with the claim that we humans are both psychological and spiritual beings
with psychological and spiritual needs. The pastor, it is said, deals with the
spiritual side of our nature, and the counsellor or therapist deals with our
psychological needs and distortions.
3.4.1 Secular versus Christian personality theories
The difference between modern secular personality theories and post-modern
Christian ones can perhaps best be brought out by noting six pairs of
contrasting assumptions as per Vitz (1997:23-29).
3.4.1.1 Atheism versus Theism
All the widely considered modern secular theories of personality and
counselling assume, either explicitly or implicitly, that God does not exist.
Many psychologists, such as Freud, have been outspoken in their rejection of
God and religious belief. But all of these theories, regardless of the personal
positions of their founders, are atheistic in the sense that God is omitted from
the theory, and religious motivation, when it does come up, is usually ignored
or treated as pathological.
Jung's theory of personality at least accepts the psychological validity of
religion, and this makes Jung's theory unique among modern personality
theories. But even these psychological interpretations of God are rarely noted
in the general approach to personality found in university textbooks and
courses today. In the typical undergraduate or graduate course on personality,
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God, religion, and Christianity do not come up as topics; they are presumed to
be irrelevant to understanding personality.
A Christian theory of personality begins by assuming that God exists and that
He is a person with whom one as a relationship. This relationship has
psychological consequences. The assumption of theism is no less scientific
than the assumption of atheism. After all, atheists haven't proved that God
does not exist. One psychological advantage of accepting the existence of
God and the validity of most religious life is that the psychologist can then
treat a religious client more honestly. If the therapist is an atheist or a sceptic,
the religious life of the client is taken to be an illusion, an error; indeed, from
such a perspective, religion is dubious at best, and, at worst, a psychological
pathology. If such a therapist decides to steer clear of the client‘s religious life,
and thus to focus on the client only as a secular individual, this cuts out much
that is psychologically important in the client's life, and the therapist's attitude
toward the client is often more negative.
3.4.1.2 Reductionism versus Constructionism
Modem secular personality theory commonly assumes that so-called "higher"
things, especially religious experience and related ideals, are to be
understood as caused by underlying lower phenomena. For example, love is
reduced to sexual desire; sexual desire to physiology; spiritual life or artistic
ideals are reduced to sublimated sexual impulses; and much of
consciousness is assumed to be caused by unconscious forces.
A Christian theory is constructionist; it emphasises the higher aspects of
personality as containing, and either causing or transforming, the lower
aspects, and sometimes as being in conflict with them. Thus, my conscious
thought causes me to seek out education, to search for someone to love, to
choose to respond hatefully or charitably to an injury. The conscious mind,
then, can become the master and guide of one's lower nature, rather than its
slave or victim.
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Constructionist thinking is synthetic - bringing things together in an integrated
pattern of coherence, while reductionist thought is analytic - breaking
whatever is being studied into parts. This integration is often hierarchical,
whereas the modem mentality is generally anti-hierarchical.
3.4.1.3 Determinism versus Freedom
Many modern secular theories of personality for example, those advanced by
Freud and Skinner - explicitly reject human free will; others do so implicitly.
Determinism is usually part of a materialist philosophy; but it need not be,
since some believe that the mind, though different from body, is nevertheless
strictly determined. Although such theories interpret, and consider important,
such cognitive and emotional mental states as perceptions, thoughts,
memories, and feelings, they generally ignore the will. But psychologists, and
especially psychotherapists, beginning with Freud, have not been consistent
determinists. After all, psychotherapy assumes that the client will freely
choose psychotherapy and will, as a consequence of it, become less
controlled or less bound by unconscious or other psychological forces. Freud
inconsistently said that a purpose of psychoanalysis was that "where id was,
ego will be." Psychotherapy that does not assume common sense
understandings of free will can hardly function. Perhaps only B. F. Skinner,
among modern psychologists, attempted to be a really consistent determinist.
Nevertheless, secular theories of personality and their applications in therapy
have been massively deterministic. In our culture, criminal and other kinds of
destructive behaviour are routinely excused as the products of irresistible
psychological forces created by childhood or adolescent traumas. The idea
that persons are responsible for their actions has greatly diminished over the
past century - and modem psychology is a major contributor to this change.
A Christian theory, in marked contrast, accentuates both human freedom and
the will expressing and embodying it. The emphasis on voluntary agency
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entails a corresponding emphasis on positive character traits - virtues - that
support the will as it chooses a response. Some secular theories, such as
those of Carl Rogers and the Existential theorists, affirm human freedom. In
doing this, they made an important early anti-modernist statement. But they
too largely ignore the role of the will in the exercise of freedom, and reject the
traditional virtues as traits that support the will.
3.4.1.4 Individualism versus Interdependence
Secular personality theory tends to assume that the personality, at least when
it is mature and healthy, is an isolated autonomous self. These psychologies
focus on how the individual becomes independent - how the individual
separates from its mother, father, community, religion, and everything else
upon which it was previously dependent. Individuation is seen as fundamental
to human maturity. If individuation is incomplete, then pathological fixations,
neuroses, and regressions result. The great fear is that one will remain
attached to, or dependent on, or controlled by, someone else.
Since Christianity does not assume that the goal of life is independence, and
even sees a dark side of independence in the common pathologies of
alienation and loneliness, a Christian personality theory takes a very different
approach. It postulates interdependence, and mutual but freely chosen caring
for the other. Personality is fulfilled in love and not in isolation: in love of God
and ultimate union with God, and in love of other humans, leading ideally to a
union of wills.
Interdependence is neither dependency nor independence. It is not
dependency, which is an inappropriate sense of need for the other, since the
relationship is freely chosen. Nor is it independence, since the persons
choose to relate to another, and to give themselves to each other. As
conceived by secular psychologies, the notion of independence ignores the
importance of relationships in bringing the truly adult self into existence.
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3.4.1.5 Self-Centered Morality versus Morality Centered on God
and Others
Modem secular psychology assumes that all values are relative to the
individual, which means that the only good is what is good for the individual
self. This view can take a variety of forms, ranging from the moral philosophy
of ethical egoism to individual relativism of a radical kind to the simple
assumption that the only thing we ever choose is what we think is in our own
best interest. The semi-compatibility of these views is rarely acknowledged,
and still more rarely defended. Taken together, these moral views have
helped greatly to undermine traditional religious teachings.
It is worth noting that most relativistic systems of morality are absolutist about
something - typically about moral relativity itself, and about those
psychological processes that support moral relativism. Thus, for example,
"getting in touch with your feelings" is an absolute value in the thinking of Carl
Rogers because it supports the development of a self that will choose its own
values. The point is that the absolutism of such systems is at the service of
relativism.
The existence of absolute moral principles, revealed by God, is fundamental
to Christianity and to Christian personality theory. The two great
commandments summarise this: Love God and love others. Love is an
absolute value, and absolutely superior to hate. It is taken for granted that
there are certain actions we must do, and others we must not do. Christianity
also assumes the moral truth and psychological validity of the Ten
Commandments. Finally, it is understood that at least some of a person's
mental pathologies can arise from violating the moral law, which comes from
God, and that psychological well-being develops from keeping the moral law.
Here again, some deeply relativistic systems have (paradoxically perhaps)
"absolute" implications. For example, Rogers assumes that psychological
pathologies can arise from disobeying the absolute principle that individuals
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should create their own values and rules. There is, then, a similarity between
a Rogerian and a Christian theory. The difference is that a Christian theory
believes that the law comes from God, not from the self.
3.4.1.6 Subjectivism versus Realism
Most secular theory, especially humanistic psychology, is based on the
assumption that all we can really know is the various states of our own minds.
Sometimes these theories also accept the kind of knowledge found in the
physical sciences, although that kind of knowledge is normally irrelevant to
psychology. Since Kant, even knowledge of physical reality has been
assumed to be knowledge only of mental states and not real knowledge of
things existing independently of our perceptions. Although some philosophers
today are realists, contemporary theories of personality commonly assume
that knowledge, like morality, is non-objective and dependent on each
individual‘s interpretation.
Closely related to the subjectivistic assumption is the notion that the important
thing is to express, understand, and communicate one's own thoughts and
feelings, whatever they are; to affirm them, whatever they are; and to be open
to the same thing in others. "Truth" is therefore fundamentally psychological,
and there are as many "truths" as there are individual psychologies. We must
know our "real" feelings; we must know what happened to us when we were
young; we must know our past traumas in order to find psychological peace;
we must get in touch with ourselves. Our subjective world is the only real one,
and the final court of appeal for something's validity is what we think - or
rather, how we feel - about it. The view that feelings can be transitory, that
they can be illusory or even false, is not found in such theories, nor do they
acknowledge that many feelings are, rather like clothes, meant to be changed
or discarded.
The objective nature of God as external to us, and of the external world
created by him, is assumed by a Christian personality theory. Although our
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own particular thoughts and feelings are of legitimate importance, they do not
define reality and cannot be given highest priority. Moreover, we must submit
not only to God but to the lawful and beautiful world that God has created.
This realism is at odds with the dominant modern philosophies. It is, however,
in profound sympathy with the general assumption of realism found
throughout science since its origin. It is also at home with the common-sense
philosophy of ordinary people since the beginning of time, including even
subjectivistic philosophers and psychologists when they are on the ski slope
or at the dinner table.
These six pairs of contrasting principles clarify two things: many fundamental
assumptions of modern personality theory have nothing to do with empirical
science and are at cross-purposes with any Christian theory. A Christian
theory of personality is, then, psychological realistic. But it is not realistic in a
merely psychological sense; it is based on reality, on what exists outside the
self.
3.4.2 Personality – A Christian theory
According to Van Leeuwen (1985:213), the understanding of personality from
a Christian perspective is an important undertaking, because it is the area of
psychology that most overlaps with concerns of the Biblical anthropologist, or
most word-viewish in its implications. Van Leeuwen (1985:213,214) states
further that she noted that personologists are interested both in what is unique
to all human beings (as opposed to other organisms) and in how (and why)
human beings differ from one another at the level of personality expression.
Both these issues according to Van Leeuwen (1985:214) are also of enduring
concern to the Christian. On the one hand, there is the affirmation that human
beings share certain common conditions as a result of their common
participation in the biblical drama of creation, fall, common grace, and (for
many) redemption. On the other hand, Christ‘s parable of the talents and the
many apostolic references to ‗varieties of gifts‘ sensitise the uniqueness of
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individuals and the importance of recognising and developing their strengths,
and helping them to overcome, or at least cope with, their limitations.
According to Van Leeuwen (1985:214,215), although the tension between
Christian aloneness and Christian solidarity is rooted in the call of Christ, the
universal tension between human aloneness and human solidarity goes right
back to the creation order, to the Fall, and to the common grace of God, which
restricts the worst consequences of the Fall. It is this heritage that the
Christian shares with the personality theorist who recognises that each person
is in some respects like all other persons, like some other persons, and like no
other person.
The Christian personality theorist will differ with the non-Christian personality
theorist about the content of these statements. Some differences among
Christians themselves regarding some of the details should be expected,
given differences in theological traditions even among those who share a high
view of Scripture. Nevertheless, all are working at the level of the whole
person in interaction with the world, with other people, and with systems of
values. To this extent, all are concerned with what it ultimately means to be a
human being (Van Leeuwen 1985:215).
According to Van Leeuwen (1985:217), a Christian evaluation of any
personality theory does not stop with an assessment of its logical coherence
or its empirical demonstrability, but also include its compatibility with what the
Bible reveals or implies about personhood.
The word ‗person‘ comes from the Latin word ‗persona‘, which means ―mask‖,
as worn in the Roman theatre, and also from the theatrical role that went with
the mask. The Latin term translated the Greek word ‗prosopon’, which had the
same meaning and was first used in this sense. But the etymology of the word
‗person‘ is not that important or revealing. It is more important that the concept
of a person rose to prominence, as a major philosophical and theological
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issue, in early Christian thought. It is therefore recognised that Christianity has
a special place in the development of the concept of the person, and that the
Christian origins of the concept may help to understand what today‘s Christian
psychologist will want to emphasise about the nature of persons (Vitz
1997:29-30).
Because human beings are made in the image of a Trinitarian and
interpersonal God, according to Vitz (1997:30), humans are interpersonal by
nature and intention. Vitz states that human beings are called to loving,
committed relationships with God and with others, and we find our full
personhood in these relationships.
3.4.3 Summary
It seems that people do not operate in a vacuum, but they respond to and
express themselves in relation to people and situations. There are also certain
tendencies in behaviour and thinking which persist regardless of the situation
or person and these tendencies can be used to type people.
It seems that there is no best personality type. Each person is unique and his
or her behaviour is largely influenced by situations, not personality traits. It
also seems that there is not a big difference between a Christian and a
psychologist‘s theory of personality. The only difference seems to be that a
Christian theory of personality is supported from and in line with information
derived from the Bible, where psychologists base their theory on their
personal research and experience.
3.5 PERSONALITY TESTING
According to Meier and others (1996:227), psychologists and other
researchers sometimes make use of tests in their attempt to understand
personality. There are both objective and projective personality tests that differ
in both form and underlying assumptions. Objective tests have been most
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influenced by trait theories, while projective tests developed largely through
the influence of Freudian theory.
Objective tests are self-report inventories in which an individual is asked a
number of questions, such as "Do you like to read mechanics magazines?" or
"Do you get up most mornings feeling fresh and relaxed?" Through asking a
number of questions related to a particular aspect of personality, certain
trends in answers are found which are thought to reflect personality patterns.
Objective personality tests are often used by colleges, employers, and
mission boards to identify personality types. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI) is commonly used for objective personality tests. The MBTI is a
standard tool of clinicians who treat or evaluate psychopathology (Meier and
others, 1996:227).
Projective tests present a standardised set of ambiguous or neutral stimuli,
such as inkblots or drawings for an individual to respond to. The person
administering the test then subjectively interprets the responses. Projective
tests generally require individual administration and tend to be heavily
influenced by the assumptions of the test authors and evaluators. The
Rorschach Ink-Blot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) are well-
known projective tests. The assumption behind these tests is that the
personality is deeply hidden in the unconsciousness of the person, which can
be examined only indirectly. In general, projective personality tests have
much lower reliability and validity than objective tests (Meier and others,
1996:227).
One particular experiment may help to show why personality tests remain
popular among some as per Mischel:
College students were administered personality tests and then given personality descriptions... Although the interpretations supposedly were based on their psychological test results, in fact each of the fifty-seven students obtained the identical report…
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The overwhelming majority of the students indicated the reports captured their personalities very well. Of the fifty-seven students, fifty-three rated the report as either excellent or good, only three giving it an average rating, one calling the interpretation poor, and none very poor. Their general enthusiasm was also reflected in open-ended comments of great praise and excitement.
(Mischel 1968:128-29)
According to Meier and others (1996:228,230), personality tests can be used
as research tools but should be given with caution because they are created
by human beings and thus are less than perfect. The Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator, the assessment tool used in this dissertation, will be discussed
shortly.
3.6 MYERS – BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR (MBTI)
3.6.1 Introduction
As indicated in Chapter 1, of the many psychometric tests in use to seek and
define the type of person a person is, is the Myers – Briggs Type Indicator –
MBTI – a personality type test that also helps to determine a person‘s natural
―comfort‖ zones in terms of behaviour.
3.6.2 Format and administration
The MBTI assessment tool is the result of the life's work of a mother and
daughter team, Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. These two
women, by combining their careful observation with the work of the Swiss
psychotherapist Carl Jung, developed a paper and pencil inventory to help
individuals understand their most basic preferences. After more than 40 years
of development, the Inventory is now one of the most widely used
psychological tools in the world (Hirsh 1992:2).
The current North American English version of the MBTI Step 1 includes 93
forced-choice questions. Forced-choice means that the individual has to
choose only one of two possible answers to each question. The questions are
a mixture of word pairs and short statements. Choices are not literal opposites
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but chosen to reflect opposite preferences on the same dichotomy (The four
pairs of preferences). Participants may skip questions if they feel they are
unable to choose. Using psychometric techniques the MBTI will then be
scored and will attempt to identify the preference, and clarity of preference, in
each dichotomy (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 1993).
During the construction of the MBTI, thousands of items were used, and most
were thrown out because they did not have high midpoint discrimination,
meaning the results of that one item did not, on average, move an individual
score away from the midpoint. Using only items with high midpoint
discrimination allows the MBTI to have fewer items on it but still provide as
much statistical information as other instruments with many more items with
lower midpoint discrimination (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 1993).
The MBTI reflects individual preferences for energy (Extraversion and
Introversion), information gathering (Sensing and Intuition), decision making
(Thinking and Feeling), and lifestyle (Judging and Perceiving), called
dichotomies. Sixteen unique and different personality types result from the
combinations of the four MBTI preference scales. These personality types will
help individuals understand their type and the relationship of their preferences
to the way they and other people interact. Although an individual‘s
preferences may lead him or her to behave in certain predictable ways,
organisational and personal goals may also induce them to act in ways that
are different from their natural preferences (Hirsh 1992:2).
Individuals with a preference for Sensing prefer to trust information that is in
the present, tangible and concrete: information can be comprehended by the
five senses. They may prefer to look for detail and facts. For them, the
meaning is in data. Those with a preference for Intuition will trust information
that is more abstract or theoretical, that can be associated with other
information. They may be more interested in future possibilities. The meaning
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is in how the data relates to the pattern or theory (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
1993).
Thinking and Feeling are the decision making calculus functions. They both
strive to make rational choices, based on the data received from their
perceiving functions, S or N. As people use their preferred function more, they
tend to be much more practiced and comfortable with its use. Those with a
preference for Feeling will prefer to come to decisions by associating or
empathising with the situation, looking at it from the inside and weighing the
situation up so to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and
fit with their personal set of values. Those with a preference for Thinking will
prefer to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the
decision by what is reasonable, logical, casual, and consistent and matching a
given set of rules (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 1993).
People with a preference for Extraversion draw energy from action: they tend
to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their level of energy
and motivation tends to decline. People with Introversion preference need
time out to reflect to rebuild energy (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 1993).
People with a preference for Judging prefer matters to be decided; to start
tasks in good time, well ahead of a deadline; to have clear plans that they
prefer not to be distracted from; and they can sometimes seem inflexible in
this regard. Those whose preference is Perceiving are happier to leave
matters open, for further input; they may want to leave finishing a task until
close to the deadline, and be energised by a late rush of information and
ideas; and they are readier to change plans if new information comes along.
They may sometimes seem too flexible for their Judging peers (Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator 1993).
Once an individual‘s preferences have been determined he or she will have a
four-letter type, such as ENTJ. Particularly important to the concept of
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psychological type is the notion that four of the preferences exist in a dynamic
relationship. These four preferences are those of Sensing, Intuition, Thinking,
and Feeling. For each type, one of these preferences will be developed
earliest and may be used more than the others. This first preference is called
the dominant function. Whatever an individual‘s dominant function; it generally
reflects a person‘s major contribution to the world (Hirsh 1992:4).
If the dominant function is one of the information gathering preferences (either
S or N), then the second function, called the auxiliary function, will be one of
the decision making preferences (either T or F) and vice versa. This second
function provides balance in an individual‘s ‗energy‘ – if the dominant function
is Extraverted, the auxiliary will be Introverted and vice versa (Hirsh 1992:4).
The third and fourth functions develop subsequently and differ in the use and
confidence an individual place in them. The fourth function, also called the
least preferred function, is generally a person‘s ‗Achilles heel‘ – the area most
likely overlooked and thus most vulnerable (Hirsh 1992:4).
3.6.3 Type descriptions
Each of the sixteen types that the test produces has its own personality
profile. The descriptions resulted from observations and interviews conducted
with people in various occupations as they interacted with others to complete
tasks. The descriptions include general statements, responses made to
questions about behaviour and preferences on a team, approaches to
problem solving, and characteristics common to certain groups of types on the
type table. When these sixteen combinations of preferences are arranged
logically in a type table, similarities and differences in behaviour and
personality can be more easily identified (Hirsh 1992:9). The sixteen MBTI
combinations of preference type are shown in table 3.1.
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Table 3.1 The sixteen MBTI combinations of preference type table
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